The United Nations Population Fund or UNFPA has released the State of World Population 2020 report with a warning that while progress has been made in ending some harmful practices against girls worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse such gains. The report published Tuesday in New York, says a recent analysis revealed that if services and programmes remain shuttered for the next six months, an additional 13 million girls may be forced into marriage and an additional two million subjected to female genital mutilation between now and 2030.
"The pandemic both makes our job harder and more urgent as so many more girls are now at risk," says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, vowing, "We will not stop until the rights, choices and bodies of all girls are fully their own." The report details that every year, millions of girls are subjected to practices that harm them physically and emotionally, with the full knowledge and consent of their families, friends and communities.
...