Because I am a Girl: Urban and Digital Frontiers - Plan International

Bright lights and big
hopes: adolescent
girls in the city
2
Jenny Matthews
“I am going to talk about the challenges
that we girls in the ghetto get. First we are
raped and there is no action taken against
the men who raped us. Second, early
pregnancy. Boys say: ‘You are beautiful,
can I sleep with you?’ Third, dropping
out of school. So the challenges girls
face in the ghetto are many. That is why
we created Safe Spaces to talk about our
challenges.”
Linda Nyangasi, one of the young
leaders of the Safe Spaces project
in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi.
“My mother used to listen to my brothers
and not to me. I used to be afraid and never
imagined I could do what I can do now.
Now they listen to me as well and treat me
the same as my brothers. I am the secretary
of the school parliament. I want to be a
child doctor. I want to distribute all the
experience and knowledge I have to other
girls around the world.”
Asalaa, 12, from Alexandria, Egypt. She has
benefited from training programmes that
she would be unlikely to get in a rural area.
Summary
In this chapter, we look at one of the major
changes that our world is experiencing today –
the exponential growth of its cities – and ask:
what are the particular needs of adolescent
girls in this context? We look at the reasons
why young women move to the city and what
urban life has to offer them. We show the
many opportunities that the city opens up for
them, which are not available or possible in
a village. But we also reveal how violence is
a growing threat for adolescent girls in cities
because of their age and sex. We argue that
they must be supported to develop the skills
to protect themselves, and to distinguish
opportunity from danger. We showcase
models of good practice; for example, urban
planning that takes young women’s views into
account and initiatives aimed at building safer
cities for girls and women. We look at the
difference for girls living in poorer and richer
housing areas. Finally, we call for investment,
not just in young people in cities as a generic
group, but in adolescent girls specifically. We
must listen to what they have to say. They
have a crucial part to play in building the safe
and sustainable cities that we will need for the
21st century.
1. Introduction: the global context
of urbanisation and youth
“We have achieved things that the
teachers didn’t think we would be able to
achieve as girls. They never had these kind
of opportunities at our age. My parents
too are astonished at the change they see
in me.”
Rana, 16, on the leadership training
she had from Plan in the city of
Alexandria, Egypt.
For the first time in history, we are now
officially an urban planet. More people now
live in cities and towns than in villages. 1 Each
week, three million people are added to the
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