Why Girl-Centered Design | Sunanın Kızları

Why Girls-Centered Design?

Despite advancements and gains in education, approximately 130 million girls worldwide are out of school.[1] Numerous factors hinder girls' access to and completion of quality education, including poverty, increasing school costs, cultural and social factors, child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM), child labor, and household chores and caregiving burdens.[2] Beyond access to education, gender-based inequalities in teaching processes prevent girls from truly learning and completing their education with maximum benefits.

At Suna’s Daughters, we believe that creating an ecosystem that addresses girls’ developmental needs and allows them to complete their education with the most benefits is only possible through child participation and girls-focused design. Throughout their lives, girls (and young women) face gender-based multiple risks that limit their abilities in all areas. Factors like poverty, gender-based inequalities, and violence, combined with unequal gender norms regarding the roles of girls in society, affect all children but have a deeper impact on girls.

Girls—especially those in the most disadvantaged positions—are often considered the primary beneficiaries of programs and projects. However, without a well-defined and inclusive process, their participation in these activities may remain limited or not occur at all.

This is why girls-focused design requires creating physically and emotionally safe spaces, programs, and processes that address the unique needs and expectations of all children, especially girls. Ensuring girls have the freedom to achieve benefits not only them but everyone in society.

What is Girls-Centered Design?

Girls-centered design is the process of thinking about, designing, and implementing spaces, programs, and activities for and with girls, based on principles of child safety and participation.

It ensures that all girls—including the most disadvantaged—can access programs, spaces, and activities and that these initiatives reach the target group effectively.

How Do We Plan to Implement It?

Through girls-centered design, we aim to ensure that no child is excluded from programs or projects by focusing on the unique needs and expectations of girls. Our goal is to reach girls, listen to them, and design the process together with respect for their right to participation. We adopt the following components as our objectives:

Components of Girls-Centered Design:

Creating inclusive and safe spaces for all girls.
Supporting girls to be active participants in decisions that concern them.
Identifying and addressing the unique needs of girls to ensure their right to participation.
Providing opportunities for girls to use their skills.
Facilitating safe processes where girls can socialize with peers.
Ensuring girls have access to resources, feel valued, and are provided with support and role models.
Supporting communities in adopting girls-focused design practices.

[1] UNICEF, 2022. [2] GPE, 2022.

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