International Day of the Girl 2015

by Brandy Blue 

Sunday, October 11^th was the U.N. designated International Day of the Girl. Volunteers around Morocco were encouraged to integrate gender development activities into their regular work at youth centers and women's centers throughout the country.

a young woman in Tinejdad shares her art

 1^st year volunteer Noa Harris has a background in creative education and social work and is an expert in gender-based violence. She is also a member of the Gender and Development committee. To celebrate the International Day of the Girl in Tinejdad, Noa developed an activity with two goals: to spread awareness about the special day, and to give a safe space to empower girls and young women to embrace their own emotions and be able to express themselves to others.

There are many different paths to empowerment. A more commonly-used path is by giving girls access to education and knowledge of the world. However, “education is not enough,” says Noa. Another path is empowerment through knowledge of ourselves. This emotional intelligence includes knowing one's own emotions and being able to give a voice to them. Noa aimed to create a safe space where girls and young women in her community could use their voices in this way. “In Morocco and all over the world we hear men talking more than women. [On the International Day of the Girl] we offer a space for girls to talk,” she says.

Noa was not alone in her endeavors. The moudira of the dar taqafa Aicha Behu helped by publicizing the event and gathering a group of 17 girls and young women, ranging in ages from 6 to 18. Noa also utilized the skills of her counterpart Nezha to translate the event while Noa facilitated the activity. The event took place on Saturday, October 10^th at Tinejdad's dar taqafa. The afternoon was divided into several parts: introduction to the International Day of the Girl, a challenge asking girls to examine what they would like to change about themselves and then symbolically enacting that change, an opportunity to share what the girls liked about themselves, and finally a craft activity that invited the girls to celebrate themselves.

In the first activity, the girls were invited to think of something about themselves they would like to change. Then, the girls walked through an imaginary machine that created that change within them. Participation in the activities was slow at first, which was a personal challenge for Noa. Because the girls were timid, Noa used herself as an example, reflecting that she wished her Arabic could be better. She then walked through the “machine” and came out with new-found confidence in her language ability. This encouraged the girls to do the same, and most of the group created their own change in the “machine,” by themselves or in pairs. Some girls felt more confident doing this activity while holding Noa’s hand rather than alone. “Sometimes we need a crutch,” she says. “Crutches aren't negative, as long as we can be aware of our own needs and ask for help.”

Participation picked up on the second activity, when Noa asked the girls to state something they like about themselves. Most of the girls were able to share with the group which created a warm and positive environment.

simple supplies and some space are all you need

 After these uplifting thoughts, the group took time to make flowers out of recycled egg cartons with paint. A way to empower as a facilitator is to be engaged and equal to the participants, and Noa took part in all aspects of the event. “When we ran out of brushes,” she recalls, “I was the first to dip my fingers in the paint.” After the flowers were lovingly crafted the group sat in a circle in the room, being sure to remove any physical obstacles like tables and chairs. Then Noa asked all the participants to state why they deserve a flower.

Happily all the girls and young women held a flower and said “I deserve a flower because..”. The answers were diverse:

I deserve a flower because I am a good student.

because I'm a girl.

because I'm a good basketball player.

because I respect my parents

because I pray.

a circle of positivity

These are just some examples the girls shared.

According to Noa, the flower activity was the perfect way to end the event. “We are all flowers,” she says. “Sometimes buds need time to blossom. We need to know how much sun and how much water we need. There are different seasons, and we are not always in bloom. But we all have the potential to blossom.”

Noa considers the event a success and encourages other volunteers to use these ideas in their own work. Ideally, she advises, this activity involves a motivated counterpart or mastery of the local language in order to fully communicate the undertones and underlying themes of the event and International Girl's Day. This kind of activity is more personal to the community and can help express those themes without talking about women's rights as an international struggle. Sometimes, says Noa, grand themes like #62milliongirls can be lost on a local Moroccan girl who feels isolated from the big-picture. This kind of activity gives the individual girls a platform and encourages them to use their own emotional intelligence to empower their own lives.

“Once you have a clear goal,” says Noa, “there are different ways to reach it.” She encourages other to find their own voice to create an event for the next International Girl Day.