Charter of girl`s rights

BPW Europe promotes the best practice realized by BPW Italy to spread knowledge of the Charter of the girl’s rights and the values contained in it.

The original drafting of the Charter for Little Girl’s Rights was submitted and approved during the 1997 European Congress in Reykjavik, after a seminar coordinated by Janice Brancroft on “The future of a child in Europe”.

This charter is a unique work in the history of gender culture, written by BPW Europe, following the dramatic condition of women, presented in Beijing at the World Conference on Women in 1995. Inspired by the UN Convention on the Child Rights of 1989, in contrast to this Convention, which equalizes the two genders but also integrating it, the Charter for Little Girl’s Rights sets them apart in terms of characteristics and needs, having regard to the different physical and emotional features.

After about 20 years, the original Charter for Little Girl’s Rights needs to be updated, considering the supervening laws all over the world: what in the past was only a hope, now it is a right!
The Charter must be read as a fundamental introduction to the assertion and protection of women’s rights from their birth. The little girl must be helped, protected since birth and educated so that she can grow in full awareness of her rights and duties, against any form of discrimination.

Many BPW Federations and Clubs are very active in this field, and they have been able to obtain the adoption of this Charter, in an updated drafting, by the local Institutions.

The new Charter of the Girl’s Rights was approved unanimously by the European Presidents meeting held in Zurich on September 30, 2016; so all the agreements, already reached in accordance with the new text, are valid and operative.

BPW Europe’s representative:
Giuseppa Bombacci, Past Regional Coordinator BPW Europe