International #DayoftheGirl is not a reminder — it’s a mandate. Progress on girls’ and young people’s rights is fragile, and we refuse to let it slip. Girl Up stands unequivocally with girls. We will defend hard-won gains, demand accountability, and press forward until every girl can live, learn, lead, and thrive.⁠ ⁠ We are clear-eyed about the harms: from the use of rape as a weapon of war to the deliberate targeting of girls, women, and children in deadly strikes. Girls and children are too often the first targets and the last to be protected. That is unacceptable.⁠ ⁠ Yet we choose hope. And action. Every day, we witness the courage of girl and youth leaders on the frontlines of crisis. They show us that giving up is not an option and that each of us has a role in building a violence-free, gender-just future.⁠ ⁠ This year’s International Day of the Girl theme, “The girl I am, the change I lead: Girls on the frontlines of crisis," makes our charge unmistakable: girls are not bystander...