Gender equality for development of adolescent girls

Access to socially valued and valuable resources is unequal. Women generally have less access than men to training, land, secure employment and leisure, as well as to the political process. Without identifying such differences, it is not possible to devise policies that meet the specific needs of women and men and address existing inequalities. It is therefore important to clarify that international standards and the Beijing Platform of Action are seeking to realize the human rights of adolescent girls as part of an ongoing effort to realize human rights globally. This rights agenda is not an issue of power, but rather involves a balancing of conflicting interests so as to ensure the well being of adolescent girls in an environment where they receive maximum life chances irrespective of sex and nationality or race. This is the message of the international Bill of Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) (CRC).