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Give girls and young women more pathways to politics
- A new global survey shows girls and women are politically engaged, but risk being ignored or not taken seriously by those in power
- The world desperately needs more women in politics if systems of government are to truly represent the communities they serve
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Bhagyashri Dengle is regional director, Asia Pacific, at Plan International, and is deeply involved in developing transformational strategies to ensure that girls across the Asia-Pacific are able to learn, lead, decide and thrive through advocacy and gender transformative programmes.
“I imagine a world where girls sit together around the table with decision-makers. We’d talk about our challenges and concerns, and we’d have a discussion focused on solutions, with empathy and patience,” says 23-year-old Tien from Vietnam.
She is one of the 29,000 girls and young women aged between 15 and 24 from 29 countries surveyed by Plan International for its latest report, Equal Power Now: Girls, Young Women and Political Participation.
Some 97 per cent of the girls and young women surveyed agreed that participating in politics is important, though 94 per cent said they face challenges when trying to do this. Only half believe that people in their community view it as acceptable for girls and young women to engage in political activities. One in five has personally been discouraged from doing so.
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