Toronto hosts G(irls)20 summit.
Cutline: (left) Alexandra Valerie Rose Rieger, 18, is a delegate from Germany and Maria Julieta Leiva, 19, from Argentina, participated in the G(irls)20 Summit taking place at the University of Toronto until June 23. Modeled after the G20, it was created to highlight how girls and women can help solve some of the world's greatest challenges.
Staff photo/LISA RAINFORD
The 16-year-old daughter of Sarah Degnan Kambou, president of the Washington-based International Centre for Research on Women, has aspirations to go to college, become a journalist and - as her mother puts it - "become rich and famous."
"With time, she'll accomplish all she has set out for herself. For my daughter, the world is filled with opportunity," Kambou, a panelist during the opening ceremonies of the first-ever G(irls)20 Summit, told her audience of predominantly young women, Wednesday, June 16 at the Rotman School of Management on the University of Toronto campus.
That same opportunity, however, is not available to most girls in the developing world, she added.
"Many girls are taken out of school because they need to care for family members or have children of their own. The statistics never fail to shock me - 331 million girls in developing countries are expected to marry before their 20th birthday. At this rate, 100 million more girls, 25,000 a day, will become child brides in the next decade."
Child marriage has dire consequences on girls' health, said Kambou. Pregnancy carries a much higher risk for young girls. Those between the ages of 15 and 19 are five times more likely to die during childbirth, said Kambou. They are more susceptible to HIV and AIDS because their much-older husbands have had previous multiple partners. Young women and child brides are much more vulnerable to domestic violence, she said.
Kambou was joined by four other panelists from various organizations whose mission is to empower women while advancing gender equality and fighting poverty in the developing world. They included Pamela Shifman of the NOVO Foundation, the Nike Foundation's Swan Palik, Jill Sheffield of Women Deliver and Zainab Salbi of Women for Women International.
They spoke to a group of 21 young women between the ages of 18 and 20 who represented each one of the G20 nations and one from the African Union.
Spearheaded by the Belinda Stronach Foundation and modelled after the G20, the inaugural G(irls)20 Summit was created to highlight how girls and women can help solve some of the world's greatest challenges.
That's what the first panel discussion of the summit delved into: the greatest challenge facing girls and women today and what practical solution should be put in place to address it?
Education is the most powerful deterrent to childhood marriage, Kambou said. Education provides the tools that lead to jobs and help negotiate life choices while generating income possibilities and delaying marriage.
"All governments need to invest in education for girls," said Kambou.
According to Sheffield, president of Women Deliver, it's time for the G20 to step up.
"Women deliver far more than babies," she said. "Women deliver both social and economic benefits. It's in our nation's interest to support women and girls."
A former teacher, Sheffield's advocacy for women's reproductive rights was inspired by volunteering for a family planning clinic at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Kenya in the mid-1960s. Sheffield told of a young woman she once treated, whom she discovered was just 27 years old and had had 11 pregnancies, only six of which produced living children.
"I was 27, the same age as her," said Sheffield. "I thought, 'this is it,' I have to do something."
There is absolutely no substitute for education, she stressed.
June 15 marked the 20th anniversary of Salbi's arrival in the U.S. The founder and CEO of Women for Women International grew up in a wealthy family in Iraq. She was seven when her family hired a child labourer.
"She was only two years older than me," recalled Salbi. "Her family needed the income to send her brothers to school. When I was in school, she cleaned the house. When I did my homework in the evening, she went to school. She never ate with us in the same dining room. I had my room and a bed and she slept on the floor. I am very ashamed that I was part of a child labour experience."
When the girl was 18, her family wanted her back so they could marry her off. Salbi lost track of her.
At 18, Salbi entered into her own arranged marriage.
"I was violated, raped," she said. "I was ashamed to say this, but I believe we have to break our silence. We each have a story. If we do not speak out, we will not break the cycle of oppression. We have a responsibility to each other and ourselves."
Salbi was fortunate. Her arranged marriage happened in America and when she left, she was in a country that provided opportunities.
"I went back to finish college. I've dedicated my life to helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives."
A month ago, Saldi received an email from her long-lost friend, the girl who worked for her family. As it turns out, she is a member of Saldi's Women for Women organization.
"I was really impressed," said Maria Julieta, 19, the delegate from Argentina, following the panel discussion. "I thought what they had to say was really inspiring. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Said Alexandra Valerie Rose Rieger, 18, of Germany, "It's really amazing to see so many women bonding over socially common issues that affect all of us."
The G(irls)20 Summit continues until Wednesday, June 23.