rgz Newsflash: International Day of the Girl, October 11

Just caught this early shout out from iheartdaily:

Just two years ago, the United Nations declared October 11th to be International Day of the Girl. The UN has said, “Girls face discrimination and violence every day across the world. The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.”   

This year's theme is "Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence."

Amen to that! Bravo, to the United Nations for this intentional focus. With their estimate of 200 million girls missing around the world due to gendercide, dowry infractions, and forced abortions of girls we need to stop and think and act.


Since the publication of FIRSTBORN, inspired by my outrage over gendercide, I've been trumpeting the work of All Girls Allowed. The nonprofit funds young women, pregnant with females, so they can carry their babies full term and keep them. They work to stop the intentional annihilation of girls. And then there's the Global Gendercide Advocacy and Awareness Project who takes internships, rgz! Or there's the movie which is absolutely chilling. Take a look at the trailer for IT'S A GIRL and then watch the full movie on NETFLIX.



I created a collection of posters on Polyvore to draw attention to gendercide. You can see the full group of 30 by clicking here. Share them and raise awareness.



Celebrate INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL! Read, reflect, and reach out, rgz!

Read, Reflect, and Reach Out: Gendercide

Hey readergirlz,

As a community which reads, reflects, and reaches out, I have to share the impetus for my lastest novel, Firstborn. In 2004 I happened upon a snippet of an article which spoke of ekthesis, the word for infant exposure in Greek antiquity. I was dumbfounded to learn that girls were still being left in the elements to die, just because they were female. Today we use the term gendercide, and over 37 million girls are missing in China alone, due to the One Child Policy.

Having learned of the modern practice, my rage looked for a place to turn. The release came through writing. What if I could create a fictional story illustrating a society practicing gendercide? What if that story could raise awareness and sympathy, and ultimately action against the horror? I began to write Firstborn.

Just think for a moment, how many readergirlz' lives would have been threatened or forfeited by the practice of gendercide if each had been born in another situation? The United Nations estimates 200 million girls are missing worldwide.

There are things to do. You can make an impact. Start by watching It’s a Girl movie. It's Instant View on Netflix. Share the link, the trailer, and your reactions.



Grow familiar with the Global Gendercide Advocacy and Awareness Project. They offer internships! Visit All Girls Allowed, where you can learn the latest news and sponsor a mother carrying a female child.

I am sharing posters I created on Polyvore across social media for 30 days. I'm gathering them in an album on my Facebook Author Page hoping they will be shared and awareness will grow.

Gendercide is an atrocity. Don't look away. Read, reflect, and reach out, rgz. May they all be allowed to live.