I am a girl

I am a girl is a documentary really worth watching if you can get to a screening or set up your own.

Made independently in Australia, it follows six girls aged around 16 from very different backgrounds around the world. The documentary is beautifully made and is very powerful as a result.

There are various issues highlighted including family planning, poverty, domestic violence, prostitution, female education, cyber bullying and depression. Of course, these issues are not exclusive to girls, however they are particularly impactful for girls during their transition to adulthood and these girls create a poignant and emotional link to worlds otherwise unbeknown to us.

In addition, various gender and microfinance studies have shown that it is female entrepreneurs in developing countries who can make a positive difference to themselves, their family and communities. If it is the man in the family who earns or is in charge of the money, it is less likely to benefit others in the same way. For this reason it is particularly important that young girls are given the right opportunities to lead them to fulfil their potential.

One thing I picked up was that, up to a point, the level of freedom of choice that you have and the level of control that you have over the situations you are put in is not necessarily correlated with your happiness. Many of the girls had overcome circumstances that many of us would deem as extremely challenging, but had made a choice to come through it and were happy and striving for greater things as a consequence.

I say up to a point because the girl depicted in what is arguably the worst situation probably needs to get out of that situation before she can be truly happy. Kimsey in Cambodia, who sells her body to pay for her mother's medicine and has an abusive partner whom she has a baby with, is sadly just one girl of many thousands in similar situations.

After the first Sydney viewing of I am a girl, I asked the director of the documentary what her hope is for the tangible actions that will come of it. She responded that beyond merely raising awareness which in itself can create change, there is a 'Do Something' tab on the website where you can directly donate to charities related to each issue highlighted, and here it is.