WASHINGTON, D.C. — Before leaving for summer recess for the month of August, Congress moved the Girls Count Act forward. The House, on July 30, voted to pass the Girls Count Act through to be approved by the Senate.
Introduced by Representative Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, in 2013, the Girls Count Act aims to limit the number of people who are not registered in their countries. More specifically, the bill calls on the U.S. Agency for International Aid and the Department of State to improve birth registration and to implement legislation that promotes gender equality in developing countries.
According to the bill, over 50 million children under the age of five are unregistered and most of these children are girls. Almost 60 percent of these children live in Asia and 37 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, two of the regions most affected by poverty. Children from richer households are much more likely to be registered than children from poorer areas.
Registering children proves their citizenship and allows them to receive a passport, driver’s license and other forms of identification. Without registration, many people, mostly women and girls, are unable to participate in “economic, legal and political sectors in their countries.” This limits the opportunity to be employed, furthering the gap between men and women. Without proof of citizenship, unregistered people are unable to vote or participate in the political process.
Moreover, with so many unregistered women and girls, poverty statistics are not entirely accurate. These are the same statistics that inform U.S. representatives on who or what to give aid to.
According the U.N. Development Programme, greater access to education allows women to participate in business and economic decisions. Thus, women will achieve greater equality within the household. This could also translate to greater financial security for a family that could not depend on multiple sources of income. Currently, over 60 percent of women work unpaid or in the informal sector. Access to passports or other forms of identification could enhance travel and allow citizens to move to other locations to find jobs, improving economic security.
Greater registration also reduces risk of human trafficking. As Representative Engel, the leading Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, noted, “Someone who doesn’t exist on paper faces particular vulnerability. They often can’t get official documentation, and they become easy targets for child labor, human trafficking and child marriage.”
Human trafficking often results in sex slavery or forced labor. According to the International Labor Organization, over 20 million people suffered this fate. Consequently, women and girls are disproportionately more likely to be trafficked and forced into sexual or labor exploitation.
Moreover, UNICEF reports that 250 million girls married before they turned 15. Those girls are less likely to complete their education, and many become victims of domestic violence. They are also more likely to become pregnant and suffer from complications of early childbirth. Should the rate of child marriages decline at its current rate, the number of child marriages will remain the same until at least 2050 due to population growth. A significant change requires significant action.
– Tara Wilson
Sources: Senate, Congress, United Nations Development Programme, Girl Up, UNICEF 1, UNICEF 2, International Labour Organization
Photo: As Our Own Facebook