Once again this year, the United States is proud to celebrate the International Day of the Girl with our partners across the globe. The United Nations established the day in 2011 to recognise girls’ rights and galvanise global commitments to end gender stereotypes, discrimination, violence and economic disparities that disproportionately affect girls. It reminds us and inspires us to consider how we can work together to ensure that all young people – both girls and boys – have equal opportunities to contribute to their societies and build brighter futures for themselves, their families and their countries. The gap between women’s inherent value and how many of them are treated every day is one of the great injustices of our time.

During his recent visit to Africa, President Obama said: “If you want your country to grow and succeed, you have to empower your women.” His words pertain not just to Africa but to the United States and to every country in the world. 

The evidence shows that communities that give their daughters the same opportunities as their sons are more peaceful, they are more prosperous, they develop faster and they are more likely to succeed. That’s true in the United States. That’s true everywhere. One of the most successful development policies a country can pursue is giving girls an education and removing the obstacles that stand between them and their dreams. Educated girls will produce educated children. Any nation that fails to educate and/or employ its women, thereby allowing them to maximise their potential, is doomed to fall behind in a global economy.

The United States is proud to work in partnership with governments, the private sector and civil society to ensure that girls have opportunities to make the most of their lives and contribute to their communities. Earlier this year, President and Mrs Obama launched the Let Girls Learn initiative to address the range of challenges preventing adolescent girls from attending and completing school. Right now, 62 million girls worldwide who should be in school are not. Millions more are at risk of losing their access to education. Understanding that girls face more than one simple barrier to getting the education they need to succeed, Let Girls Learn uses several approaches – community-based solutions, development projects, diplomacy and partnerships – to pursue its mission.

This year I was proud to participate in a mentoring event for girls, organised by the Business and Professional Women (BPW) Malta. The event was hosted by HE Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at Verdala Palace. More than 100 mentors, from all walks of life, shared their successful experiences with about 300 schoolgirls. Next month, the US Embassy and the University of Malta’s Department of Gender Studies will join forces to encourage girls and young women to challenge gender stereotypes. We will invite participants to view the film Miss Representation and to discuss the message of the film: that everyone, regardless of gender, race, age or circumstance, can succeed if we change attitudes.   

My message to girls everywhere is: find your passion and then aim high, work hard to achieve your full potential and engage in active citizenship. As active citizens, girls can open doors of opportunity, pave avenues of success, fortify their communities and lead the way for tomorrow’s growth and prosperity. By being active citizens, girls will be the mentors of the future.

This International Day of the Girl gives us all an opportunity to reflect on the challenges girls and women face on a daily basis. A world in which women and girls are treated as equal to men and boys is safer, more stable and more prosperous. Beyond those tangible benefits, this is simply a matter of right and wrong. Women and girls are human beings, full and equal in rights and dignity. They deserve to be treated that way, everywhere, every day. The US Government is committed to making that vision a reality. 

Mrs Abercrombie-Winstanley is the US Ambassador to Malta