Strong Women for Strong Women Campaign

As the title of this programme implies, the central strategy involves using the voices of "strong women" to advocate for girls and women around the world. According to UNICEF NZ, "New Zealand has a long history of empowering women, having been the first country to give women the vote in 1893. Almost all our top positions are currently filled by women - Prime Minister (Rt Hon Helen Clark), Governor General (Dame Silvia Cartwright), Chief Justice (Dame Sian Elias), Speaker of the House of Representatives (Hon Margaret Wilson). Hence the idea of having strong NZ women support girls in lesser-developed countries, so that they can become strong women too."

This strategy is illustrated by the project launch, which was held at Parliament and featured the participation of Prime Minister Helen Clark. At events such as business breakfasts and fun walks, some of NZ's prominent women speak out on behalf of UNICEF's efforts to protect girls against abuse and discrimination. By capitalising on the fame of local women celebrities, too, UNICEF NZ hopes to encourage generous public participation. For example, local singer (and UNICEF NZ National Ambassador) Hayley Westenra has voiced a plea on the UNICEF NZ website as part of the "Bikes for Ghana" project. She asks community members to support UNICEF's purchase of bikes and tricycles to be supplied to 6,000 girls in upper primary and junior secondary schools in Ghana. The purpose of the project is to accelerate girls' participation in education in light of UNICEF mapping reports showing that many girls have to walk as much as 5 kms. to school in all kinds of weather.

Community members are also actively participating in campaign events that are designed to build public awareness and empathy. As part of the campaign's "Season for Strong Women", five NZ Drama School graduates perform solos - many of them sharing their own personal stories as women - at a local community theatre. For example, in her solo performance entitled "China's Butterflies", Katlyn Wong says, "Two sisters. A disciplinary father. A mother dying of cancer. Never talk about it, never question it. How will these girls remember their mother once they can't remember what she feels like? In China I ask about my mother's past. As I start to hear the Chinese language, something inside remembers her voice, I begin to feel my mother...and I remember...part of my mother's name means the butterfly..." Click here to read more about this event.

The development of intercultural understanding through educational travel projects is another campaign focus. Guides New Zealand, a non-profit organisation working to build awareness and self-esteem among girls, is supporting the campaign by encouraging their girls to learn about the issues facing their peers in the developing world. Participating girls will have the opportunity to work on a project to identify how much more vulnerable girls and women are in the developing world. The two girls who demonstrate the best understanding of the issues through the project will have the opportunity to participate in a UNICEF field trip.

Girls, Women, Gender, Education, Health, HIV/AIDS, Rights, Overseas Development Assistance.

UNICEF New Zealand offers the following statistics to explain the rationale for the campaign:

• Two-thirds of the world's 862 million illiterate adults are women
• Two-thirds of adults living with HIV/AIDS under the age of 25 are women
• In sub-Saharan Africa 2 girls are HIV infected for every boy
• Girls are 60% more likely to be educationally deprived
• FGM affects 130 million girls and women globally
• Girls between 13 and 18 years constitute the largest group in the sex industry
• 1.2 million children are trafficked per year for marriage, labour, or sex.

The campaign is an effort to create awareness and change around these issues.