For hundreds of years, to be a girl in Liberia was to be
relatively powerless. To address that, advocates helped the
Liberian Senate sign the Children’s Rights Act into national law
in 2011. Every single country in the world except for the United
States and Somalia, have agreed that spanking is wrong, at least
in principle. With over 35 million homeless children in India,
and shelters for only 36,000 of them, children’s lives can be
precariously balanced and sexual abuse is widespread. But even
those living at home are not always safe. Legislation to prevent
child marriage around the globe was just introduced in both the
House and Senate that will give girls who are married too young
a choice and a chance. “Safe haven” laws don’t do much to reduce
the rates of infanticide, but they do give anti-choicers cover
for their argument that forcing women to give birth against
their will is no big deal. Sixty percent of the under-five
deaths in India occur in just five states. An Indian child’s
chance of celebrating t