International Day of the Girl Child

History & origins

The International Day of the Girl Child is observed on 11 October. It is a United Nations observance, not a public holiday in most countries.

On 19 December 2011 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/66/170, declaring 11 October the International Day of the Girl Child, “to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.” The first observance was 11 October 2012. The resolution built on earlier work, including the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which the UN notes as the first such text to call out girls’ rights specifically.

UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA, and UNESCO use the date for campaigns that change each year. The UN’s 2026 theme, developed with girls’ organizations, is to end child marriage and invest in girls’ rights. The UN states that more than 12 million girls a year are married before adulthood, and that UNICEF’s “Girl Goals” work still finds 133 million girls out of school.

This is a rights day, not a birthday party for girls. It is separate from International Women’s Day (8 March) and from World Children’s Day (20 November).

Why it matters

Girls are not a smaller version of the women’s agenda. Child marriage, school leaving, unpaid care, and violence in adolescence close doors before adulthood starts. The day exists so governments, schools, and families have a shared date to look at those facts and at the girls who are already leading campaigns in their own communities.

How to celebrate

This is not a party date. Support a girls’ education or anti-child-marriage program that already does the work. Listen to girls in your own school or family about what actually blocks them. Share the UN or UNICEF brief for this year’s theme instead of a slogan. If you teach, use the date for a lesson on girls’ rights, not only for a poster. Donate time or money locally if you can. Do not speak over the girls the day is named for.

Facts

• The UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/66/170 on 19 December 2011
• The first International Day of the Girl Child was 11 October 2012
• The 1995 Beijing Declaration was the first UN women’s platform to call out girls’ rights specifically
• The UN’s 2026 theme focuses on ending child marriage and investing in girls’ rights
• UNICEF has reported that 133 million girls are out of school

Upcoming dates

• Sunday, October 11, 2026
• Monday, October 11, 2027
• Wednesday, October 11, 2028
• Thursday, October 11, 2029
• Friday, October 11, 2030