A Zonta Club of Oamaru initiative recognising International Day of the Girl aims to enhance student opportunities by offering a scholarship to high school senior students.

International Day of the Girl is celebrated worldwide to raise awareness about gender inequality and to advocate for girls’ rights and empowerment. 

Zonta Club of Oamaru president Rowena Hutton said they continued to offer an ‘empowerment grant’ to each of the high schools in the Waitaki district for a female student to apply for in 2027.

The grant was first launched in 2024.

Mrs Hutton said the club “is doing their bit to encourage girls and to ensure that the doors to opportunity are open”.

“We want to enhance students’ personal goals to mark the International Day of the Girl and will forward application forms to Waitaki Girls’ High School, East Otago High School and St Kevin’s College for a scholarship of $1000 in 2027.”

According to UNICEF, 129 million girls worldwide are not in school.

“With collective action and sustained investment, and a commitment to girls’ rights, we can create a world where every girl thrives.

“As we are aware, education is one of the most powerful tools for lifting girls out of poverty,” Mrs Hutton said. 

This years theme, ‘end child marriage and invest in girls’ rights’ is the international focus as UNICEF 2026 estimates one in five girls were married before age 18 across the world, representing approximately 650 million women and girls alive today who were married in childhood. 

Mrs Hutton said club members were pleased to be part of the important international awareness campaign to support girls and to raise awareness about girls’ rights with a display at the Oamaru Public Library.