Girls are watching us, Penn tells BVI on global observance day

The National Democratic Party's chairman Marlon A. Penn delivered a direct message to girls across the British Virgin Islands on Sunday, October 11, as the territory joined the global observance of International Day of the Girl Child: their voices matter and their dreams are valid.

Speaking on behalf of the NDP, Penn told young people across Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost van Dyke that "Your voice matters. Your dream is valid. And your Virgin Islands need you."

He framed girls not as future assets but as present strength, saying they are power for today rather than a promise for tomorrow. Penn questioned whether genuine investment in girls' development is taking place and called on the territory to deliver safe schools, real opportunities in sports and technology, protection from abuse, and a voice in decision-making spaces.

While child marriage does not affect the BVI as a widespread problem, Penn acknowledged that the territory faces the same underlying root challenges that drive the practice globally. He pledged that the NDP commits to education that empowers, protection that is real and opportunity that is equal.

The party's specific commitments centre on ensuring every girl has access to quality education and STEM skills for future employment, and enforcing protection from violence, harassment and discrimination in schools, online and at home. Penn said girls must understand they belong everywhere: in sailing and science, in classrooms and in the House of Assembly.

"You cannot have a strong Virgin Islands if half our future leaders - our daughters - are left to fight alone for confidence, for education, for leadership," Penn said.

This year's observance carried the theme "End child marriage and invest in girls' rights." According to UNICEF, more than 12 million girls worldwide are married before adulthood each year, roughly one every three seconds, with the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Child marriage denies millions of girls the opportunity to remain in school, safeguard their health, live without violence and realise their potential.