环球英语 — 280：Girl Child Network
Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Today’s Spotlight is on the girl child.
Voice 1
In a rural area in the country of Zimbabwe in Africa, something very important is happening. A group called the Girl Child Network is acting out a play. Many people have gathered to watch the play. Men, women, and children have come. They want to hear what the people from the Girl Child Network have to say.
Voice 2
The play involves a man with HIV and a traditional healer. The man visits the healer. He asks the healer how he can be cured of HIV. But the healer gives the man very bad information. The healer tells him that he should have sex with a young female virgin. The healer says that the virgin’s clean blood will cure him of his HIV.
Voice 1
Many of the people in this area have heard this idea before. But this idea is not true. So, at the end of the play the people of the Girl Child Network explain the truth about HIV. That is, there is no cure for HIV. In fact, forcing anyone, including young girls, to have sex is rape. And rape is a crime.
Voice 2
After the play is finished, a few young girls come forward. They share their stories with the crowd. The first young girl is only eight years old. Her father raped her when she was two. Now she is an orphan. Both of her parents have died. Her father died in prison.
Voice 1
The second girl is fourteen. Her uncle raped her and she became pregnant. Her aunt forced her to leave the home. This young girl was very afraid. So she had an abortion, killing the baby inside of her. She admits that she has been very sick ever since the abortion. These two girls now stay in a building owned by the Girl Child Network.
Voice 2
The leader of the Girl Child Network is Betty Makoni. She was pleased with the play. No one in the crowd claimed responsibility for the raping of young girls. But Ms. Makoni felt that the meeting was a step forward. She said that many people learned that having sex with a virgin cannot cure HIV. She hopes that the raping of young girls will stop in this community.
Voice 1
The Girl Child Network started in 1999. Betty Makoni visited a school. She met with some of the girls attending the school. They discussed issues that were affecting the girls’ lives from day to day. The result of the discussion was a sad reality. Many of the girls’ human rights had been violated. Some of them had been raped. Some of them were beaten. Some of them were denied food.
Voice 2
Ms. Makoni felt that something had to be done. So, she created the Girl Child Network. Today this group addresses the problems of the girl child all over Zimbabwe. The group offers girls a safe place to live, to learn, and to grow. The people working with the Girl Child Network have empowered many young girls.
Voice 1
But why focus on the girl child? While it is true that both boys and girls can suffer, the girl child often faces greater problems. Here, a few facts from the website girlsrights.org. This group collected many of their facts from the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Voice 3
Violence against girls takes many forms. These forms include denied food, denied education, denied health care, denied employment, rape, and slavery.
Voice 4
In areas where people are poor, seventy [70] percent of the poor are women and girls.
Voice 3
Currently, fifty [50] percent of all new HIV and AIDS sufferers are young people. And over sixty [60] percent of them are girls.
Voice 4
In some areas of the world there are one hundred men for every five women. That is a result of violence towards women - the death of many women, young girls and female babies.
Voice 3
Two million [2,000,000] girls between ages five and fifteen are forced into sex work.
Voice 4
One hundred twenty million [120,000,000] women have had some form of female genital mutilation. Their female sex organs were cut and damaged.
Voice 3
Each year more than fifteen million [15,000,000] girls aged fifteen to nineteen have babies. This is a result of early marriage, and rape. This affects their education and employment. Early pregnancy can have a poor effect on a young girl’s future.
Voice 1
The Girl Child Network would like to see a world where girls have power and can enjoy their human rights in the home, at school, and in the community. The group would like to see whole communities supporting their young girls. The Girl Child Network’s goal is to protect and encourage the rights of the girl child.
Voice 2
The Girl Child Network has created special programs aimed at young girls. Through these programs the group is starting to reach its goals. First, the group has created over three hundred clubs in Zimbabwe. At the clubs girls can discuss their issues. They can break their silence about being raped. They can learn about their human rights. And they can learn important life skills.
Voice 1
Second, the Girl Child Network works on changing laws. People representing the group will talk to government officials. Together they work on changing laws and policies that will help protect girl children.
Voice 2
Third, the group provides twenty-four hour emergency services to abused girls in some areas. People from the Girl Child Network help these girls talk to the police. They also help young girls find safe shelters.
Voice 1
The Girl Child Network also works in communities around Zimbabwe. The group trains citizens about the rights of young girls. These citizens can then work against any abuse that happens in their communities. The group also helps communities to start projects. The money from the projects goes towards education, clothes, and the other needs of young girls in the community.
Voice 2
Today we have learned about some of the struggles of the girl child. That is why the Girl Child Network is so important. Their ideas and programs are helping girl children all over Zimbabwe.
Voice 1
But, there are girl children in other parts of the world that need help too. Who will help them? Individuals and communities have a duty to protect the children in their areas. Today, the Girl Child Network provided us with some good ideas. Hopefully girl children all over the world will be loved and protected.
