克里國務卿關於年國際女童日的聲明

As we celebrate International Day of the Girl, I congratulate Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. As a recipient of one of the world’s highest honors, Malala’s resilience and courage challenge us all to support the struggle against brutality, ignorance, and violence. She inspires hope in millions of people and embodies our commitment to human rights and education.

在慶祝國際女童日之際，讓我向榮獲諾貝爾和平獎（Nobel Peace Prize）的巴基斯坦的馬拉拉·優素福扎伊（Malala Yousafzai）表示祝賀。獲得世界這一殊榮的馬拉拉，以她頑強的精神和勇氣向我們所有人發出挑戰，支持反虐待、反無知和反暴力的鬥爭。她爲千百萬人喚起希望，代表着我們對人權和教育事業的承諾。

International Day of the Girl reminds us of the need to recommit to investing in the world’s 850 million girls so that they can use their talents to contribute to their communities and countries. Every year of schooling increases a girl’s individual earning power by 10 to 20 percent, and the return on secondary education is even higher. Adolescent girls who attend secondary school will marry later, raise fewer but healthier children, and be less likely to be infected by HIV/AIDS. Countries with higher levels of female secondary school enrollment have lower infant mortality rates, lower birth rates, lower rates of HIV/AIDS, and better child nutrition. Each additional year of a mother’s secondary schooling reduces the probability of infant mortality by 5–10 percent, and a child born to a mother who can read is 50 percent more likely to live past age five.

國際女童日提醒我們，必須重振爲世界8.5億女孩投資的決心，以便讓她們能夠發揮自己的才能，爲社區和國家作貢獻。女孩子多上一年學，收入能力可提高10%-20%，而受過中學教育的回報更高。受中學教育的女孩結婚較晚，生育數量較少，而養育的孩子會更健康；她們也會較少受到艾滋病病毒/艾滋的感染侵襲。在女孩上中學比例較高的國家，嬰兒死亡率、出生率、艾滋病病毒/艾滋病感染率均相對較低，兒童營養狀況更好。母親多受一年中學教育意味着嬰兒死亡率可降低5%-10%，有閱讀能力的母親使幼兒存活到5歲以上的可能性增大50%。

Unfortunately, we live in a world where girls are often not valued. Today, 250 million girls live in poverty, one in three girls in the developing world will be married before turning 18, and 62 million girls are out of school--deprived of an education that would lead to positive health and economic outcomes. Worldwide, an estimated 150 million girls have experienced sexual violence, and nearly half of all sexual assaults are committed against girls younger than 16 years of age. In 2013, nearly 80 percent of all new HIV infections among those ages 15 to 24 affected adolescent girls and young women. Thus, the consequences of failing to adequately invest in girls are enormous.

遺憾的是，我們現生活在一個女童往往不受重視的世界。今天，有2.5億女童生活在貧困中，在發展中國家，三分之一的女孩在18歲以前結婚，6200萬女孩沒有上學——被剝奪了能夠帶來良好的健康和經濟收入的教育機會。在全球，大約1.5億女孩遭受過性暴力；將近一半的性侵犯行爲受害者是16歲以下的少女。2013年，在15歲到24歲的艾滋病病毒新感染人羣中，將近80%是少女和年輕女性。因此，未能充分爲女孩投資的後果極其嚴重。

The United States understands that when a girl is kept from achieving her potential it is a loss not only for that individual girl, but also for her family, community, and country. We know that empowering girls, keeping them free from violence, and providing them with an education is one of the best ways to ensure that societies thrive. Nowhere is this more true than in Afghanistan where women and girls have persevered despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and made incredible gains over the past 13 years to help put their country on the path to peace, prosperity, and security.

美國懂得，當一個女孩無法實現她的潛力時，受損的不僅是這個女孩本人，而且也是她的家庭、社區和國家。我們懂得賦予女孩權益、使她們不遭受暴力併爲她們提供教育，是使社會興旺繁榮的最佳途徑之一。這一點在阿富汗表現得再真切不過。在那裏，婦女和女童面對看似難以逾越的障礙堅忍不拔，在過去13年裏取得了驚人的進步，幫助國家走上了通往和平、繁榮和安全的道路。

We must involve elders, faith leaders, educators, and influential community figures in this effort. Governments must educate their citizens about the correlation between investing in programs for girls and the benefits to society, and hold accountable those individuals responsible for acts of violence and oppression. Make no mistake, educated girls, empowered with knowledge, are the best rebuke against the brutal forces of violent extremism.

我們必須讓長老、宗教領袖、教育工作者以及有影響的社區人物參與這項努力。各方政府必須讓公民看到爲女童項目投資與社會收益之間的關係，並追究暴力和壓制行徑。毋庸置疑，受過教育的有知識的女孩，是對暴力極端主義殘酷勢力的最有力反擊。

It is not a coincidence that girls and women are targeted by these groups like ISIL and Boko Haram. We must stand against those extremists groups that have arbitrarily targeted women and girls and subjected them to sexual violence and forced marriage. Their plight underscores the challenges we face to ensure girls grow up in a world where every girl lives a life of dignity, free from violence.

伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國（ISIL）和“博科聖地”（ Boko Haram）等組織把女孩作爲攻擊目標決非偶然。我們必須抗擊那些肆意攻擊婦女與女童、使她們遭受暴力和逼婚的極端主義組織。這些婦女和女童的境況更加說明，要確保每一個女孩過有尊嚴和沒有暴力侵犯的生活，我們面臨着怎樣的挑戰。

By working together as a community of nations, we can build a world in which girls are not treated as property, chattel, or spoils of war, but rather as individuals with their own voice, talents, and freedom to realize their potential and contribute to our collective humanity. This is the message Malala has taught us, and this is the message of progress and justice.

通過國際大家庭的共同努力，我們能夠建設一個世界，使女童不再被當成財產、物件或戰利品，而是被視爲一個人，擁有自己的聲音、才能和自由去實現她們自身的潛力，爲整個人類作出貢獻。這是馬拉拉傳遞給我們的信息，這是進步與正義的信息。