This time last week it was the International Day of the Girl!
To be honest, I wasn’t actually aware of it until this video from Global Goals appeared on my YouTube feed featuring the song Freedom from Beyonce.
This video has already hit 3 million views (many of them are probably mine!), yet more than that, it is presenting hard-hitting facts about the reality of lives for girls across the globe:
- Every five minutes, a girl dies as a result of violence.
- 71% of human trafficking victims are female.
- 130 million girls are out of school.
- 63 million girls have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
- Twice as many girls are likely to become infected with HIV.
- One in four girls are married as children.
It is so easy to do one of two things when presented with such statistics. We either overlook and ignore the realities of the world around us, perhaps because we feel overwhelmed that these issues are so massive we cannot possibly begin to create change.
OR
We could follow the example set out to us by Jesus in the Bible. We engage in the world around us, and by doing so, glorify God!
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:12
Something that really struck me in this video was the whole theme of FREEDOM. In the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, it speaks of this kind of Godly freedom found in chapter 61 (MSG translation):
“The Spirit of God, the Master is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, Heal the heartbroken, Announce freedom to all captives, Pardon all prisoners, God sent me to announce the year of his grace.”
Social justice isn’t just for churches working in underprivileged communities or for very passionate people who are interested in this kind of stuff.
Seeking to promote and uphold women’s rights isn’t just for feminists either.
It is for all Christians, as we are called to be light in the darkness and to bring freedom for those held in oppression.
How we seek to carry this out will look differently for every one of us – yet we can all spread awareness, give whatever time, money or talents we have and choose to open our eyes and hands to the world around us.
#FreedomForGirls
