The International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated globally on October 11 in the honour of girls to empower them and amplify their voices. The day aims to spread awareness and eliminate gender-based challenges such as child marriage, limited learning opportunities, violence and discrimination against girls.
Amid a growing need to recognise the significance of gender equality in society, a few poems can be shared to promote the empowerment of girls to mark the occasion. To add to the significance of the occasion, here are some poems and songs which can be shared on the International Girl Child Day:
Poems That Can Be Shared This International Girl Child Day:
“Still I Rise” By Maya Angelou:
Maya Angelou’s iconic “Still I Rise” was written in 1978. It promotes womanhood, sexuality, and overcoming oppression. “Still I Rise” is primarily about self-esteem and self-assurance. Angelou reveals in the poem how her self-esteem allows her to overcome any obstacle. She demonstrates how nothing can bring her down. She will rise to any occasion, and nothing, including her skin colour, will stand in her way.
“Marrying the Hangman” By Margaret Atwood:
She begins the poem by describing an old law that allowed condemned prisoners to avoid execution by either becoming a hangman (if he was a man) or marrying him (if the prisoner was a woman). At the end of the poem, Atwood brings us back to the present by depicting the hangman as a modern husband.
This is a well-written, factual expose into the very private lives of a married couple in New York City with two young children, which includes the murder of the mother. It is a psychiatrist’s responsibility to best describe the mental issues that plague these parents. This is a true story about murder and insanity within a wealthy family.
“What They Don’t Want You to Know” By Amanda Lovelace:
This poem is from the collection The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Ada Lovelace. Although brief, this poem serves as an important reminder to young girls navigating puberty and society’s expectations: “the world begins and ends when you say so.”
“A Woman Speaks” By Audre Lorde:
Audre Lorde explores the inconsistencies in how black women are viewed and treated in “A Woman Speaks,” as well as her own struggle to define her identity on her own terms.
“Fire” By Nikita Gill:
Nikita Gill’s “Fire” is the pep talk to end all pep talks, reminding women that when someone tries to take advantage of them, we must “show them what hell looks like when it wears the skin of a gentle human.”
Songs That Can Be Shared This International Girl Child Day:
Meri Duniya Tu Hi Re: Heyy Babyy
Laadki: Angrezi Medium
Chandaniya (Lori Lori): Rowdy Rathore
“The Best Day,” By Taylor Swift
“My Girl,” By The Temptations