Girls and young women worldwide consistently feel excluded from politics, according to a new research by Plan International, an international development organization.
A global survey of 29,000 girls and women aged 15-24 from 29 countries found that respondents face significant barriers when taking part in political activities and feel poorly represented by the politicians elected to serve them, according to a press release issued on Tuesday.
Only 50% believe that people in their community view it as acceptable for girls and young women to engage in political activities and 19% have personally been discouraged from doing so.
Just one in three (34%) think politicians take action on the issues that matter to them and only one in 10 of those surveyed are happy with their leaders’ decisions on the issues they care about.
Only 39% think politicians are representative of the communities they serve.
The report, called “Equal Power Now: Girls, Young Women and Political Participation”, was released ahead of International Day of the Girl and is based on a survey of adolescent girls and young women from countries ranging from Kenya to the US to Brazil. In-depth interviews were also carried out with girls and young women in a further 18 countries.
It found that a clear majority care significantly about politics, with 97% of those surveyed agreeing that participating in politics is important and 83% saying they have personally done so.
But despite this, girls and young women are frequently shut out of political processes because of both their age and gender, only 31% saying they do not feel politics is open to their engagement or participation.
Nearly half (45%) of those surveyed think politicians in their country fail to understand their views. Amongst those who belong to an ethnic minority group, identify as LGBTQ+ or having a disability, this figure rises to 59%.
Stephen Omollo, Plan International’s chief executive, said: “Our research, which represents the views of thousands of girls and young women across countries with different cultures, income levels and civic contexts, has found that overwhelmingly, girls are political. But globally, they are still being denied the right to shape the decisions which impact their lives most.”
“As children and young people, they are being wrongly dismissed as being ‘too young’ to add value. At the same time, they continue to be held back by deep-rooted gender inequalities which mean that girls and young women face more and different obstacles to access decision-making spaces than boys and young men. These challenges are compounded even further if girls also come from poverty, from an ethnic minority, or identify as LGBTQ+,” he said.
“Despite this, we’re seeing girls and young women redefining what it means to be political, persevering against the odds to take part in formal political processes and also championing diverse youth movements, grassroots activism, and collective action. Politicians and other power holders must stand with girls, for girls, as they change the face of politics,” he added.
“It’s critical that girls' and young women’s voices are heard. Critical as a right, critical to shaping the policies and decisions that shape their lives, and critical to achieving gender equality,” said he.
Ahead of International Day of the Girl, Plan International has published a Youth Manifesto written by young activists which calls on politicians and other leaders worldwide to support girls and young women to participate in politics.
This includes increasing civic education, creating more policies and strategies that facilitate the meaningful participation of girls in politics, and adopting a zero-tolerance approach to violence against female politicians and activists.
This manifesto sits at the heart of Plan International’s Girls Get Equal campaign, which calls for a world where girls in all their diversity are equally able to make decisions about their own lives and shape the world around them.
