Hope for our nation’s transformation lies in how well we invest in our teenage girls - their education, health, and employment prospects.

This was the message of the international observance of World Population Day last July 11. In Manila, around 2,000 people – mostly teenage girls and some boys – from different schools, communities, and institutions came together to celebrate the teenage girl at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Why the emphasis on teenage girls?

Around 10 million of the 102.4 million Filipinos are girls aged 10-19 years old, and they face more and greater challenges than their male counterparts.



Among those challenges, according to United Nations Population Fund Country Representative Klaus Beck, is how, in many societies, girls who reach puberty are deemed by their families and communities as ready for marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth – robbing them of a chance to pursue a future of their own choice.

“Young girls are often denied basic human rights such as the right to health, right to education, and even the right to choose if and when they want to get married and, if so, to whom,” said Mr. Beck.

In the Philippines, 13.6 per cent of all 15-19 year old girls are either pregnant or have a child. By the age of 19, almost four in 10 girls are, or will soon be, mothers. Without education, their future can be derailed, and they may never realize their full potential.



“But when you are empowered, when you have the means and the information to make your own decisions in life, you are more likely to realize your dreams, your full potential. You thrive and prosper, your community thrives and prospers, and your country thrives and prospers,” Mr. Beck added.