[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9522 of October 7, 2016

International Day of the Girl, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

No matter where she lives, every girl on this planet deserves the chance
to learn and grow, to develop her mind and her talents, and to live a
life of her own choosing. Although we have made life significantly
better for our daughters than it was for our mothers and grandmothers,
in too many parts of the world, girls are still undervalued,
disrespected, abused, and prevented from contributing to society. On
International Day of the Girl, we recognize our obligation to lift up
women and girls at home and abroad and to build a world where all girls
feel safe and empowered in their classrooms, their communities, and
their homes.
My Administration is committed to combating gender disparities, and
through the White House Council on Women and Girls, we have made it a
priority to consider the needs of women and girls in our policies, laws,
and programs. Today, more American women have the freedom to make their
own choices about their lives--about their bodies, their education,
their career. The Affordable Care Act has ensured that more girls have
access to quality, affordable health care and that no health insurer can
charge them more simply because of their gender. By encouraging the
media to depict more examples of women in science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) fields--and by working to expand access to
STEM classes and careers, particularly computer science--we are striving
to address inequalities in education. We will continue to pursue
policies that advance gender equality here at home, from equal pay for
equal work to protecting reproductive rights, because while some girls
have never had more opportunities, there are still many who remain in
the toughest of circumstances.
Under the leadership of Vice President Joe Biden, we are working to put
an end to violence against women, and we have launched a movement to
fight sexual assault and support survivors. Through the White House Task
Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and the ``It's On Us''
campaign, we are shining a light on the unconscionable rates of sexual
assault against teens and young adults in primary and secondary schools
and on college campuses. My Administration recently announced new
guidance and resources to help district administrators and educators
prevent and appropriately deal with sexual assault in K-

[[Page 3386]]

12 settings. We have also provided guidance to educators on ways to
address harassment and discrimination of students in school settings,
including transgender girls and women--who too often face bullying and
abuse that harm their education. The Department of Justice also released
guidance to identify and prevent gender bias in law enforcement
responses to sexual assault and domestic violence cases. And because 84
percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls will
experience some form of violence in their lifetimes, we have protected
the ability of tribes to prosecute non-Native perpetrators of domestic
violence in Indian Country through provisions included in the 2013
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
As we work to expand opportunities here in the United States, we must
also look abroad and acknowledge that any country that oppresses half of
its population--that prevents women and girls from going to school or
work or refuses to give them control over their bodies or safety from
gender-motivated abuse--is not a society that can thrive. The ideologies
that harm girls and prevent them from fulfilling their potential are the
same ideologies that have led countries to instability, violence, and
terrorism. That is why earlier this year, we launched the U.S. Global
Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls--a strategy aimed at bringing
Federal agencies together to comprehensively improve the lives of girls
around the world, safeguard their rights, and encourage their full
social, political, and economic participation. To specifically focus on
the challenge of adolescent girls' education, First Lady Michelle Obama
and I launched the Let Girls Learn initiative, through which we are
working with companies, organizations, and foreign governments to help
give adolescent girls around the world the chance to go to school--
because a world in which all girls have access to an education is a
safer, fairer, and more stable place. The initiative includes more than
a billion dollars for funding new and ongoing programming in more than
50 countries to help adolescent girls attend and stay in school. And the
White House will soon host the first meeting of the North American
Working Group on Violence against Indigenous Women and Girls to champion
regional coordination on the rights of women and girls from indigenous
communities across North America.
Around the world--from Africa to Southeast Asia to Latin America--we are
striving to improve girls' welfare, build their skills, and promote
their participation as the next generation of leaders. We are working to
prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in fragile
settings as well as support refugees and displaced persons around the
world. We are undertaking targeted efforts to address child, early, and
forced marriage, and we are investing in new programs, including
survivor-led programs, to end female genital mutilation and cutting in
seven countries across Southeast Asia and West Africa. In sub-Saharan
Africa, we are helping adolescent girls pay for and attend school, while
ensuring they learn about HIV and violence prevention. We have sponsored
``Women in Science'' camps in Peru and Rwanda to give girls abroad the
opportunity to learn how to use technology to improve their communities.
We are also working with Pakistan to advance women's economic
participation and entrepreneurship and launch the country's first ``Take
Your Daughter to Work Day.'' And we remain committed to ending human
trafficking and have taken unprecedented steps to provide comprehensive
services to victims, bring traffickers to justice,

[[Page 3387]]

apply new technologies to combat modern slavery, and provide training
and promote awareness at home and abroad.
This summer, 5,000 leaders from around the world gathered at the first
ever United State of Women Summit to highlight the work we have done and
to build an agenda for the future. But we know there is still more to
do, and I have made advancing gender equality a foreign policy priority
to ensure we can continue removing barriers that prevent women from
reaching their full potential. More than our policies, we must commit to
changing the culture that raises our daughters to be demure or
criticizes them for speaking out--and to changing the attitude that
permits the routine harassment of women and girls, whether walking down
the street or going online. We are working with communities and
businesses that are rethinking workplace policies, funding women
entrepreneurs, expanding female leadership, and creating more
opportunities for women and girls who too often face disproportionate
challenges--including women and girls of color, women and girls with
disabilities, and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women and girls--
because everyone has a role to play and everybody deserves the chance to
pursue their dreams.
This is the future we are forging: Where women and girls, no matter what
they look like or where they are from, can live free from the fear of
violence. A future where all girls know they can hold any job, run any
company, and compete in any field. Today, we recommit ourselves to the
belief that when everyone has the opportunity to go to school, explore
their passions, and achieve their dreams, our communities are stronger,
more resilient, and better positioned for peace and prosperity. Let us
keep working to build a world that is more just and free--because
nothing should stand in the way of strong girls with bold dreams.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2016, as
International Day of the Girl. I call upon the people of the United
States to observe this day with programs, ceremonies, and activities
that advance equality and opportunity for girls everywhere.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
BARACK OBAMA