More than one hundred girls from West and Central Africa gathered on October 10 and 11, 2025, in Dakar, Senegal, for a summit organized as part of the International Day of the Girl Child.

These participants used this platform to express their concerns to policymakers. They called for urgent measures to end discrimination and violence, and to guarantee their rights to education, health, protection, and participation.

"We want to be taken into account when our history is written, because our voices matter," reads an activity report received from UNICEF on Wednesday, October 15, 2025. Addressing governments, the girls want their voices to be placed at the heart of decision-making.

They call for the creation of safe spaces to break taboos and allow free expression; training for professionals so that they respond to the realities experienced by girls; as well as rigorous monitoring of the implementation of laws and programs, so that their rights become a reality.

In this dynamic of fighting against all forms of discrimination, the participants in this summit recommend that decision-makers make school fair and inclusive for all, so that every girl can fully exercise her right to education.

They also recommend access to quality, confidential, and accessible health services. “Protect our planet, protect our future. Climate change is a reality that puts girls’ lives at risk—act now for our communities.”

"End child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM)," they pleaded in this report. In addition, they called on political authorities to say no to gender-based violence, by adopting strong rules and sanctions. Through these proposals, the participants believe that, thirty years after the Beijing Declaration on Women's Rights, girls in the region consider that "progress is too slow and promises have been broken."