An Iranian Girl from Balochistan © MEHR

United Nation General Assembly has declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child (#dayofthegirlchild). This way the UN recognizes the special challenges many girls around the world are facing and stresses the importance of the fight of girls’ rights. For this we compiled tweets with information about girls’ education in many countries, the celebration of the Day of the Girl Cild and news about girls that made it to the headlines.

© picture-alliance/dpa

It is ironic that while India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, many Indian women are still trapped in the dark ages. Just name it – female feticide, child marriage, sexual violence, dowry, domestic slavery and abuse top gender evils. It might not necessarily be in that order.

DURGA, a photography project by Sharmistha Dutta that addresses the apathy and gender inequality that exists against women, especially widows in India. WTO Reporter Roma Rajpal Weiß spoke to her on the plight of widows in India and the inspiration behind her project.

Every day hundreds of young women and little children are bought and sold as domestic help across India. In many cases, parents have no idea that their child might be raped, tortured and subjected to severe mental abuse. “Girls in bondage,” a multimedia feature, highlights the plight of young women and children who are lured by agents and end up as domestic labour in different cities in India. Women Talk Online spoke to CNN-IBN’s Priyali Sur, the journalist who uncovered the tragic stories of these victims.

On December 16 last year, six men brutally raped and tortured a 23-year-old girl in India’s capital, New Delhi. The incident shook India to the core. Indians finally woke up to the fact that women were unsafe. Mass protests helped in changing the laws against rape, punishing the accused and ensuring justice for the victim, but for her father, Badri Singh Pandey, time seems to have come to a standstill. DW journalist Aamir Ansari spoke to him.

We’ve been hearing a lot about abuse and rape lately, and it’s good that way because women are finally opening up, talking against abuse and demanding justice against their perpetrators. Women Talk Online presents a special collection of interviews and blogs on abuse and rape and what women can do if they encounter someone who’s been through abuse or are unfortunate enough to experience abuse themselves. Take a look at some of our stories and interviews and tell us what you feel.

FES fellow Isra Bhat

Smiling faces, warm gestures, a cool breeze and exquisite foliage welcomed me in this beautiful part of the world. As a stranger in general and a woman in particular, I had many inhibitions and apprehensions about the country I was visiting.