Day of the Girl Child

Amelie Boleyn
Oct 11, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Oct 8, 2025

"A World of Potential for 1.1 Billion Girls": UN Secretary-General, António Guterres

Breaking Barriers for Girls: Bridging the Gender Gap through Sport

As we mark the International Day of the Girl Child, we shine a light on one of the most pressing inequalities affecting girls globally.

In many communities, especially in post-crisis regions, girls continue to face systemic barriers to participation in both education and sport. These barriers persist through structural norms, poverty, and patrilineal traditions, and limit girls' opportunities to thrive.

We believe that providing a safe space, and equal access to opportunity for girls is not just about physical activity, it is also about enabling girls to defy harmful gender norms through the power of sport.

The work we do focuses on communities where gender disparities are often more pronounced, particularly in areas affected where social cohesion has been fragmented by conflict, poverty, and displacement, and chronic underinvestment has held back sustainable development .

What is a 'Gender Gap'?

In 2023 UNICEF founds that over 132 million girls were out of school, with the vast majority coming from low- and lower-middle-income countries. In sub-Saharan Africa girls are nearly twice as likely to be out of school compared to boys of the same age. Social and cultural norms, exacerbated by poverty, force many girls into early marriages, child labor, and other harmful practices like female genital mutilation (FGM).

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, a practice strongly linked to patriarchal traditions, but also economic faultlines in regions saddled by debt and depleted infrastructure. These harmful norms and practices not only deny girls their fundamental rights but also create a cycle of inequality that is passed from one generation to the next

In post-crisis environments, the situation becomes more precarious.. Conflict and instability amplify existing gender inequalities, pushing girls further behind. A 2022 report from Plan International found that adolescent girls in conflict-affected countries are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys. The societal disruptions caused by war and displacement disproportionately affect girls, who often shoulder the burden of household responsibilities or become victims of child marriage and sexual violence.

The Role of Sport in Shifting Attitudes and Closing the Gap from the Grass-Roots

Sports can be a powerful tool in fostering better gender parity where girls are able to grasp the same opprtunities as boys, free from stigmatisation and discrimination.

Research from the UN shows that girls who participate in sports are more likely to stay in school, have higher self-esteem, and resist early marriage. Sports offer a platform where girls can challenge societal expectations, develop leadership skills, and build networks that support their personal and academic growth.

When girls are seen participating alongside boys, it challenges traditional gender roles in the wider community and helps shift attitudes towards gender equality from within.