Guide to a Girl’s Girl Bookshelf: Books to Read in Celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child

Many are unaware of this, but October 11 is claimed as the International Day of the Girl Child by the United Nations. This day aims to acknowledge the challenges adolescent girls worldwide face and address the importance of gender equality advancement. As leaders of today’s generation, we play a vital role in shaping an inclusive future where girls’ voices and ideas are heard as the basis for various sustainable development and peace. To start, let’s understand deeper about issues that girls and women encounter through this list of recommended feminist literature.

FEMINISM, INTERRUPTED BY LOLA OLUFEMI
This book explores various feminist issues from an intersectional perspective, addressing that gendered liberation is possible if everyone across the globe collectively fights for it.

HOOD FEMINISM BY MIKKI KENDALL
Hood Feminism is an essay collection that tackles the exclusivity of women of color, non-cis, and disabled women in Western feminism, challenging the harmful stereotypes that exclude them from feminist conversations.

KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1982 BY CHO NAM-JOO
A fictional novel that surrounds a mother’s descent into “madness” because of the pressure, stereotypes, and misogyny she faces throughout her life.

HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES BY CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
This book is a story collection that explores society’s entitlement to a woman’s body, wrapped in the form of psychological realism, comedy, horror, and science fiction.

LET’S CREATE A BETTER FUTURE FOR GIRLS!

Sources:
https://www.un.org/en/observances/girl-child-day
https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9780745340067
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/26/808943234/hood-feminism-is-a-call-for-solidarity-in-a-less-than-inclusive-movement
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/books/review/kim-jiyoung-born-1982-cho-nam-joo.html
https://www.vox.com/culture/23025602/her-body-and-other-parties-review-carmen-maria-machado