It will come as little surprise to many that girls spend 40 per cent more time performing unpaid household chores than boys. That 40 per cent equates to whopping 160 million more hours of chores day undertaken by girls. In some countries, this figure is considerably higher. new report from United Nations children's agency UNICEF highlights this disparity. UNICEF's Anju Malhotra stated. "Girls sacrifice important opportunities to learn, grow and just enjoy their childhood." She added: "This unequal distribution of labour among children also perpetuates gender stereotypes and double burden on women and girls across generations."
Much of work done by girls is of menial and physically demanding nature. Two-thirds of girls cook and clean in home, while half collect firewood or water. They also spend long time caring for children and elderly relatives. The country where girls work longest is Somalia. Here, girls aged between 10 and 14 years spend 26 hours week on household chores. report is being released to coincide with UN's International Day of Girl Child, which is on 11th of October. UNICEF said: "Quantifying challenges girls face is first critical step towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality and breaking down barriers that confront world's 1.1 billion girls."
