Today, 11 October, is the International Day of the Girl Child – a day declared by a United Nations General Assembly Resolution to recognise the rights of girls around the world. It is a day on which we can celebrate girls everywhere, amplify their voices and advocate for them. Whilst at Lowther Hall we spend each day with girls who enjoy many advantages, globally, Nearly 1 in 5 girls are still not completing lower-secondary and nearly 4 in 10 girls are not completing upper-secondary school. Around 90 per cent of adolescent girls and young women do not use the internet in low-income countries, while their male peers are twice as likely to be online. Furthermore, globally, girls aged 5-14 spend 160 million more hours every day on unpaid care and domestic work than boys of the same age.

The 2024 International Day of the Girl Child theme is: ‘Girls’ vision for the future’. Although today’s generation of girls in many countries is disproportionately affected by global crises of climate, conflict, poverty and pushback on hard won gains for human rights and gender equality, recent analysis shows that girls are not only courageous in the face of crisis, but hopeful for the future.  

One of the Qualities we want our Lowther Hall girls to develop is She is optimistic and has a sense of hope for the future and as I have been meeting with the Year 12 girls for lunch as they come to the end of their school journey this year, they have articulated feeling hopeful and confident as they prepare to enter the adult world. We intentionally design experiences that allow our girls to advocate for themselves, play a meaningful role in key processes and take the opportunity to lead their peers. In so doing, we hope that they gain a sense of their own agency and feel positive about their potential to make a difference in the world. 

Looking beyond our own community, our partnerships with overseas charities assist us to consider and support girls in other parts of the world who may not enjoy the same rights or advantages as our students. Next week on Tuesday, we will hold our Term 4 non nobis solum casual clothes day in order to raise funds for the Australian Himalayan Foundation. Our work with this organisation supports projects to bring improved education to communities with a particular focus on girls and the maintaining of their schooling through the senior years. 

So on this International Day of the Girl Child, I am delighted to be not only celebrating our own girl children here at Lowther, but also celebrating the work that our school can do to improve the prospects of girl children around the world. 

Ms Elisabeth Rhodes
Principal