Islamabad: Ms Talha, 18, takes over Plan International Pakistan office as country director. In a similar way, girls have held over 200 such ‘takeovers’ in more than 50 countries to mark the International Day of the Girl under the umbrella of Plan International. By occupying spaces and places where they are otherwise rarely seen or heard, girls will be calling on governments to tear down the barriers that deny millions of girls their rights. “Governments will not end the abuse and inequality facing millions of girls because vital data about them is either incomplete or missing. The global takeover action pushes to the forefront the need for making girls and their realities visible. This is the very first step we urgently need to get right,” said Talha. The global action is being staged as part of Plan International’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ movement, which advocates for all girls to have power and freedom to learn, lead, decide and thrive. “There is no country in the world where girls experience true gender equality. The takeover is a great statement of girls’ power and their ability to change the world. It also serves as a reminder to governments how millions of girls are held back and denied an equal chance in life just because they are girls,” said Imran Yusuf Shami, the Plan International Pakistan country director. Discrimination results in girls and women remaining largely invisible in key areas of power and influence. Only 10 out of 152 elected Heads of State worldwide are women, and women head only 14 of 194 governments. Fewer than 4% of CEOs heading the world’s 500 leading corporations are women. Achieving gender equality is one of the Global Goals that were agreed by world leaders in 2015 and which promise to transform the world by 2030. Plan International is warning that without an urgent step-change by governments, this goal, alongside others, cannot be realised. Plan International’s report: Counting the Invisible, released this October, shows that no credible statistics exist worldwide that show the real life challenges of girls, such as how many drop out of school due to early marriage, pregnancy or sexual violence, or how many girls become mothers under the age of 15. “We cannot improve what we can’t measure. It is easier to ignore a problem when there is little evidence of how pervasive it is or how deeply it affects people. If we are to ensure we meet the ambitious agenda set for 2030, we must make sure every girl counts and can be counted,” said Shami.