Teenage girls should take over a special day to encourage them to break traditional gender boundaries, develop their abilities and to remind the government to create a friendlier environment for them, a women's group and legislators said yesterday.
Led by the Garden of Hope Foundation, a group of teenage girls between the ages of 12 and 16 yesterday participated in a "flash mob," making sudden appearances in Ximending, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Mall, then at the Legislative Yuan to drum up support for a day of their own by chanting "We want Daughter's Day!"
Foundation director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) said the proposal is designed to call on the public to take girls seriously and stop treating them as the second-class sex.
PHOTO: LUO PEI-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
"Traditionally, Daughter's Day celebrates a girl's transition to womanhood and wishes them luck in finding a good husband. But in fighting for gender equality, we want it to send a more aggressive message, empowering young girls to pursue their dreams," she said.
Although Daughter's Day already exists, the group called for the day to become officially recognized by the government and celebrated by members of the public. They also said the focus of the day should be on empowering girls and women.
In addition to calling for a new kind of Daughter's Day -- traditionally held on the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, symbolizing prosperity -- the foundation also urged the government to protect teenage girls' human rights, which is detailed in the Beijing Declaration And Platform For Action from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.
Attending the event to accept the petition from the girls, PFP Legislator Li Yong-ping (李永萍), Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄), pledged to support the empowerment of Taiwanese daughters.
"The issue of gender equality needs to be discussed more thoroughly. Apart from a day for Taiwanese daughters, we will push for a gender equality committee in the Legislative Yuan to improve gender equality on every level," Li said.
Chen Yu-ling (陳俞綾), who won the foundation's Formosan Daughters Award for excellent performance in science and technology last year, said that one of the important messages in Daughter's Day is that young women can be successful in what are traditionally considered men's fields.
"I didn't develop an interest in science until high school, because my parents said I should be an accountant. I want to tell them that although I am a girl, I love science and I can excel in the field," said the high school graduate.
Chi said that the foundation looked forward to seeing young girls receive friendly treatment and face no discrimination in school, work and marriage simply because of their gender.
The foundation urged the public to sign their names in support of the Daughter's Day proposal on its Web site at www.goh.org.tw.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS