On International Day of the Girl, this is why we should all be global feminists

Feminism needs to be understood and appreciated, not only in the west, but where women’s needs are greatest – in places and countries where women and girls are not even near the lowest rung of the human rights ladder

A few years ago, the word “feminist” seemed to make quite a few people feel uncomfortable. It carried a kind of stigma – a bad rap – and was often perceived as unmentionable and polarising.

Two years ago, I received a photograph from a fellow feminist advocate who had just walked past a London newsagent’s stand and noticed that every single women’s magazine had the previously unmentionable “f word” displayed on its front cover. Evidence, if we needed it, that awareness was rising and progress was moving towards the zeitgeist again.

The feminist movement is and has always been a broad church, with different interpretations, opinions and ideas. But today, thanks to #MeToo, Times Up and the women’s march movements, feminism has re-emerged from the closet and is gaining profile and popularity.

From my perspective, however, there is still work to do. Feminism needs to be understood and appreciated, not only in the west, but where women’s needs are greatest – in places and countries where women and girls are not even near the lowest rung of the human rights ladder.

I’m impatient to see the glass ceiling being smashed in my lifetime. That’s why I founded an organisation called The Circle. And that’s why I want to create a wave of online advocacy to help people understand, and start using, the term “global feminism’. I want everyone to appreciate the concept of Feminism in terms of the bigger picture of global inequality.

#OneReasonWhyImAGlobalFeminist is a call to action, to amplify the term – and I need your help to do it.

There are countless reasons to support women and girls worldwide in embracing feminism. One in three women and girls are subject to physical and sexual violence in their lifetimes, while 603 million women still live in countries where domestic violence is not considered a crime.

(The Circle (The Circle)

Of the 757 million adults who cannot read or write, two out of three are women. Globally, 41 million girls live in developing countries where they are denied a primary education. Across Africa, 28 million girls are not in education and will never step inside a classroom.

More than 750 million women alive today were married before their 18th birthday, and across the world 39,000 girls under the age of 18 become child brides every day. And again, each day about 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In developing countries, 20,000 girls under the age of 18 give birth every day.

The health inequalities don’t stop there. Every minute, one young girl or woman aged between 15 and 24 contracts HIV.

Women and girls also account for 71 per cent of human trafficking victims, but just 22.8 per cent of the world’s parliamentarians.

Does this shock and anger you too?

Your call to action will take just five minutes. All you need to do is take a photograph of yourself holding a sheet of paper with the one reason why you identify as a global feminist and post it on social media, using the hashtag #OneReasonWhyImAGlobalFeminist – and tag me and The Circle NGO so we can see your support.

I want to start a collective wave for positive change. I want women’s rights to improve around the world. If you do too, you know what to do.

Annie Lennox is a musician and founder of The Circle