Girls demand rights and end to discrimination at West Africa summit

In Dakar, Senegal, more than 100 girls from West and Central Africa gathered for the West and Central Africa Girls’ Summit, which coincided with the International Day of the Girl. The summit gave them a platform to voice their concerns and demands to presidents, policymakers, and the global community. As Isabel from Equatorial Guinea said, “We want to be taken into account when our history is written because our voices are important.”

Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration on Women’s Rights, the girls stressed that progress has been slow and promises have been broken. They called for urgent measures to end discrimination and violence and to secure their rights to education, health, protection, and participation. Their priority areas include making schools just and inclusive, providing access to quality health services, protecting the planet, stopping child marriage and female genital mutilation, and preventing gender‑based violence. They also emphasized the need to include girls with disabilities in all plans, programs, and decisions.

During the two‑day summit, the participants collaborated on a declaration urging governments, regional bodies, and international partners to prioritize girls’ voices in decision‑making. They demanded the creation of safe spaces for free expression, training for professionals to respond to girls’ realities, and systematic monitoring of laws and programs to ensure rights are implemented.

The West and Central Africa Girls Summit marks a turning point: adolescent girls from across the region have set their own agenda for change and are demanding that leaders listen and keep their promises. They want to be present when decisions affecting them are made, asserting that they are best placed to speak about their own realities. The summit’s outcome—a girls’ declaration—serves as a call to action for governments and partners to prioritize their needs and concerns. As Isabel concluded, “I imagine a place where girls can be who they are, where every girl can be respected and loved.” The organizers, including UNICEF, will continue to support the girls’ efforts to bring about change and ensure that their voices are heard.