The Pakistan Girl Guides Association National Headquarters celebrated the International Day of the Girl on 20 October. More than 600 students and guides attended the ceremony, which was organised alongside UNICEF Pakistan and the National Commission on the Rights of the Child.
The programme focused on leadership development, nutrition, health, and emotional wellbeing. Rabia Waseem Farooqi, Parliamentary Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training, attended the event.
Mary O’Neill, Ambassador of Ireland to Pakistan, also joined the proceedings. Nadia, a member of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, and Elnur Aliyev, Chief of Social and Behavior Change and Officer-in-Charge for Gender and Development at UNICEF Pakistan, were present.
A panel discussion titled “Invest in Her Today, Strengthen Her Tomorrow: A Pathway to End Child Marriage” featured Farhana Azim, Honorary President of the Pakistan Girl Guides Association. Baela Raza Jamil, CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, and Barira Hanif, Gender Specialist at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, also took part in the talk.
Guide Champions from various regions, including Turbat, Quetta, Badin, Karachi, Tharparkar, Kotli, Muzaffarabad, Multan, Chakwal, Sahiwal, and Lahore, shared their success stories. The event concluded with a segment called “Girl Guides’ Voices: If You Ask Us…”, where guides presented their specific demands and recommendations.
