What our youth are saying: voices from SSND schools
Brooklyn, N.Y.     Sunyani, Ghana     St. Louis, Mo.     Brakel, Germany
The Gambia     Puerto Rico    Nowy Sacz, Poland    Munich, Germany

From Brooklyn, N.Y.
           “Groups of girls that are ‘invisible’ include girls who are victims of human trafficking, girls who are uneducated or do not even know their rights, girls who are impoverished, orphaned girls, daughters of criminals or addicts and girls who live in societies or follow religions that traditionally view men as superior. ‘Invisible’ girls cannot be protected until they are found. Through the establishment of peer groups that discuss issues facing girls, the interests of ‘invisible’ girls can be defended. Also, through the creation of new schools, many of these ‘invisible’ groups can gain their voice.
            “The first step toward the empowerment of girls is letting them know that it is possible. By implementing strong, positive female influences in their lives, girls will know that they can achieve empowerment. In many societies, women are treated the same, possibly worse than girls, so it understandable why girls might not see an alternative. If these girls are given someone to look up to, in the end, they will be stronger. Governments should be responsible for the creation of education that can be available for all children. Through these schools, girls will gain knowledge necessary for empowerment.”

Caitlin Byrnes
St. Saviour High School
SSND delegate to CSW

From Sunyani, Ghana
           “Gender norms and structures are the main reason for discrimination and violence. The new generation must speak out against these harmful belief and practices:

• The practice of juju comes in many forms, one of which is human sacrifice. A young girl is killed in order to acquire sexual body parts which are offered to gods in order to obtain favours such as prosperity, bumper, harvest, rain, material benefits etc.
• Girls deprived of education and sent as hawkers on the street.
• Practice of having many wives and many children, whereby, many of the children (mainly the girl children) are left to make do for themselves and are not sent to school.
• Birth of a girl child brings no joy to a family. When a child is born the mother is asked in the local language- εyε nipa - Is it a human?  If the child is a boy the answer is “yes” if a girl the answer is ‘no.’ This attitude is what the girl child grows up with.

           “We need to be ready to admit that some cultural practices are harmful and need to be changed. We need education throughout the country so that women and girls know their rights. Before laws and policies are put into practice, there should a rule of law which states that there is absolute supremacy of the law. This is to say that everyone is equal before the law regardless of gender. The media, the governmental organizations, NGOs, churches, schools, all major organizations are responsible for making sure that education on rights of girls are given and laws and policies are enforced.

Collected response from 40 students
Notre Dame Girls Senior Secondary School

From St. Louis, Mo.
           ”Girls are denied the right to an education in so many cultures. This is unjust, and needs to be changed. Women in all cultures should have the right to education. Also, this summer, I stayed on an Indian Reservation in South Dakota, to run a Bible School for the children on the Reservation. My group and I encountered a girl named Julia, who looked exactly like a boy. We wondered why this girl wanted to resemble a boy so much. Well, we soon found out that Julia was sexually abused, and was hiding her physical appearance. I found this disgusting and appalling. Why do so many men view women as weak pathetic? “
           “I feel that girls should be able to have the right to feel like they can get to know themselves as a person. They should be able to explore their individual spirituality and religions. They should have the right to pursue their dreams and set goals for themselves to accomplish. They simply need a strong voice in their society and culture that all should consider and respect. “

Jamie St. Eve
Notre Dame High School
SSND delegate to CSW

From Brakel, Germany
             “Everyone has to be taught about the topic of discrimination and violence against girls to ensure that many people support the idea of stopping discrimination and violence against girls. People have to throw away prejudices and harmful traditions. … Everyone is responsible for the success, leaders, citizens, men and women (!), boys and girls (!). Women and girls have to fight for their rights, for equality and their aims, men and boys have to support them and leaders have to ensure a peaceful atmosphere.
            “An example comes to my mind. I’ve seen a film about modern India and the change of society. Big firms have moved there to profit from the skills of Indian workers, and they have started to employ many women. First, parents wanted to forbid their daughters to work, but the firms promised to ensure the protection of the girls by taking them home and other things. The women gain their own money and become independent. However, they still stick to their families and traditions, but they also enjoy their own lives. I think, they are on a good way to find a compromise between their aims and the traditions and they show that women can free themselves. As a consequence, fathers start to accept the situation and many even become proud of their successful daughters. Young men grow up in a completely new society and therefore, the attitudes slowly start to change, women become part of the social life and men support them.
            “I hope that more ways are found to pave the way for girls and young women to live their own lives, so that the next generation grows up in a new society and is able to change it.”

Nadine Binder
Brede Gymnasium
SSND delegate to CSW

From Brakel, Germany
            “We have come to the decision that equality between men and women and the protection of underage girls and boys is very important. We are deeply concerned about the forms of violence (sexual abuse, child labor, rape of women and girls) that are still in practice today. We reject any form of violence. Reports of eyewitnesses and victims on the internet-page of UNICEF made us upset and filled us with extreme hatred against the offenders.
            “Especially the report about the female genital mutilation of the 10-year-old girl filled us with profound disgust. Such crimes are for us - who grow up in an emancipated society - unimaginable and we hope that one day worldwide (!) mankind will become reasonable, sensible and conscious of his responsibility towards children. We want to live on and be proud of ourselves and our society. There is no reason for us not to respect women and appreciate their values, as we expect from them.”

Collected responses from male students
 in the 13th class of Gymnasium Brede

From Brakel, Germany
            “The whole community has to find a way to help ‘Invisible Girls.’ It does not work when individuals try to help on their own without the means and without the support of society. A discussion with politicians, social workers, ‘ordinary’ people, children, etc. is necessary to develop programs and to carry them out. This talk is a MUST, otherwise it cannot be successful. In addition, participants should have the right to ignore recommendations and break laws or even create new laws that meet the inquiries.
            “It is not just the politicians who must be prepared to make a wholehearted effort for disadvantaged girls. Politicians have the means and the necessary influence to convince the population of a good matter. Even schools should run projects because it is here that young people should show an interest in girls and the social evils that affect them. These people should also desire to become actively involved in solving these problems. For that reason we should not look abroad but discover problems within Germany. We cannot deny poverty and violence from which German girls suffer, too.”

Collected responses from female students
 in the 13th class of Gymnasium Brede

From The Gambia
            “We just had the opportunity to meet with youth at our parish Youth Tournament. Girls from The Gambia shared with SSND Novice Lucy Kwalimwa on four topics from "Voices of Youth Forum - Stop Violence and Discrimination against Girls":

• They see education and sensitizing girls to their rights as most important.

• Yes, violence still happens, e.g. FGM (female genital mutilation) takes place in rural areas.  Rape also happens.

• Gender discrimination is common in families when they assign certain tasks to girls that boys could also do. 

Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Bwiam
including girls from 20 outstations

From Puerto Rico
            “Laws and policies mean nothing unless they are backed up by education. An educated public that is aware of the social and personal dangers of such violent practices should have no problem in following such laws. Public education programs should be implemented, be it in schools, universities, or neighborhoods. Also, phone hotlines for the denunciation of violations can be put into place. National governments should be the ones responsible for making sure this happens, but the UN and other supranational organizations can provide incentives and funding for the implementation of said measures.
            “The lack of legal framework that supports equal rights for both genders also presents a problem. The combination of traditional sexist practices and the state’s policies is a part of this issue, since the government should be the one responsible for overseeing the national commitment to human rights. If there were laws to protect girls against such harmful practices, and if these laws were rightfully implemented and provided for punishment if not obeyed, the situation would be more manageable.

Laura Gonzalez
Academia del Perpetuo Socorro

From Puerto Rico
            “I am extremely dismayed by the problems that confront the girls and young today.  I think that the violations of human rights should play an integral part in the approval of laws and that should be the basis to improving the quality of life of the girls in the world. 
            “Through education we can eliminate discrimination and violence, and therefore the quality of life will be on the rise and will be a lot better for these defenseless creatures. Education is the key for the social and cultural development of a state, and therefore the responsibility for providing the education lies with the government of the state.
            “The invisible girls are part of this vicious cycle that causes this continuous violence. The governments and the NGOs have to take charge of educating and in this manner the invisible girls will be able to require their rights and to escape the cycle. The NGOs should collaborate to arrive at this place.

César A. López
Academia del Perpetuo Socorro

From Nowy Sacz, Poland
            “In the strategy of ‘girl empowerment’ there should be also the issue of equal rights for girls in homes and families – these basic social units. Parents should be made aware that they must promote gender equality and they should be shown that both girls and boys are the same gift of God. The main actions for the ‘girl empowerment’ are mainly the abolishing of fee-paying schools and encouraging parents and the society to invest in girls’ education. Just and effective investment of funds in order to eliminate gender discrimination should be taken into account in state budgets.
            “Local laws should provide women with the ability to purchase property and inherit money from their parents. There should also be means to prevent and react to acts of domestic violence and sexual abuse at homes. “It would be good to introduce a ‘proportional’ system’ – proportional participation of men and women in political life. Self-help women’s organizations should take part in the early stage of work on preparing the action strategies to make sure policies are designed in accordance with girls’ and women’s needs. Women should have the right to make decisions about their family and home life.”

Marlena, Ania, Agata, Karolina
Nowy Sacz, Poland

From Munich, Germany
            Concerns about stopping discrimination against violence against girls:

• the idea of women/girls as sex objects in western societies (role of the media, fashion industry and advertisement) connected with a certain beauty ideal (slim, blond, etc.)
• men’s prejudices against women derive from their physical superiority; this is why they also feel superior to women as far as intelligence is concerned;
• no or hardly any school education for girls in certain countries
• in many countries girls are no ‘provision for old age’; so they are just married off and don’t receive school education
• lack of job opportunities for girls/ women; fewer chances of a career; the clichés of what is a typically female and male job
• women earn less than men for the same work
• the media should be forced to stop spreading the stereotypical beauty ideal; they must show more respect for women
• the work of a housewife and mother should be seen as an important task in western societies
• the clichés of the male and female roles must be broken up
• in order to find out whether girls are beaten or abused at home, medical organizations should look after girls till they are 14/15 years old; it should be made compulsory for parents to have their daughters examined regularly
• there should be more public information on women’s/girls’ rights and more posters with emergency numbers and addresses of institutions that help girls/ women

Collected ideas from grades 10-13
Theresia-Gerhardinger-Gymnasium, a school for girls

Maria Gottlob, Nadine Rahmsdorf, Franziska Märkl, Sabrina Willberger
Fachakademie für Sozialpädagogik 
(vocational school founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame)

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