Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Dili, October 13th, 2016
International Day of the Girl
The Government has joined partners, civil society, communities and girls in celebrating and highlighting the International Day of the Girl, a day that the United Nations adopted in 2011 to focus “attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.”
As a part of the events taking place girls from Timor-Leste joined hundreds of girls in over fifty countries around the world in an initiative to “takeover” leadership roles, where leading figures in political and intergovernmental spheres “stepped aside” for a day so the girls could take charge.
Olinda [18] and Elfia [18] “took over” the role of the Vice Minister of Education, H.E. Dulce Jesus Soares on the 10th of October and discussed the rehabilitation of schools, managing the teacher’s training budget and implementation of supplementary feeding program. Clara [16] and Sidaglia [14] took over the role of the Secretary of State Youth and Sports, H.E. Leovigildo Hornay. A “Girls Takeover March” in Dili on the 11th of October ended at the Office of the Secretariat of Youth where the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports and some of the girls involved in the “takeover” initiative spoke to those gathered.
The Government of Timor-Leste, is committed to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, noted in the 2015 UN Global Leader’s Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment that “the position of women and girls a key test of development progress” and “we must improve the situation of women and address pervasive gender discrimination if we are to meet our development goals.”
As a champion of the implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals Timor-Leste embraces all goals including Goal 5 “To achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”
Government Spokesperson, Minister of State Agio Pereira noted “the International Day of the Girl reminds us of the great importance of girls to Timor-Leste. Our commitment to national development includes the principle that we leave no one behind. This means we need to do all we can to make sure girls are given opportunities to learn and lead. Only when our girls are able to grow up in an environment that helps them thrive and achieve their potential, will our nation thrive and achieve its full potential.”END