奧巴馬總統就國際女童日發佈公告

In every community across the globe, girls and women should have the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve their full potential. All nations have a responsibility to protect the basic human rights of all people, and when they do — when girls and women are fully valued as equal participants in a country's politics and economy — societies are more likely to succeed.

在全球各地的每個社區，女童和婦女都應當享有學習、成長並實現她們的全部潛能的機會。所有國家都有責任保護全體人民的基本人權，而且當他們這樣做的時候——當女童和婦女作爲一個國家的政治及經濟事務的平等參與者完全得到尊重的時候——各國社會才更有可能取得成功。

But throughout the world, too many girls and women are subjected to laws and traditions that serve only to oppress and exclude. Gender-based violence — from domestic violence and human trafficking to genital cutting and early and forced marriage — condemns girls to cycles of dependence, fear, and abuse. Harmful cultural norms and prejudices that tell young women how they are expected to look and act deny the dignity and equality we want for all our daughters. On International Day of the Girl, we stand with girls, women, and male and female advocates in every country who are calling for freedom and justice, and we renew our commitment to build a world where all girls feel safe, supported, and encouraged to pursue their own measure of happiness.

然而，在世界各地，有太多的女童和婦女受到只施行壓制和排斥的法律和傳統的束縛。基於性別的暴力行徑——從家庭暴力和人口販運到割禮和強迫婚姻——讓女孩陷入依附、恐懼及受辱的惡性循環。告誡年輕女孩應當如何穿着及如何行事的有害的文化習俗和偏見剝奪了我們希望我們的女兒們全都享有的尊嚴和平等。在國際女童日（International Day of the Girl），我們與女童和婦女以及每個國家中那些倡導自由和公正的男女志士並肩努力，並重申我們的承諾，去建設一個讓所有的女童都感到安全、得到支持並受到鼓勵去追求她們自己的幸福的世界。

Promoting gender equality and lifting up the status of girls and women have been central to my Administration's national security strategy and foreign policy. We are supporting quality education for girls around the world, advancing policies that enable women and families to live healthier lives, and investing in programs that help nations prevent and respond to violence against girls and women. We are also working to end human trafficking, a crime that affects far too many communities both here at home and around the globe, and of which many victims are girls and women.

提倡男女平等以及提高女童和婦女的地位一直是本屆政府的國家安全戰略和對外政策的核心。我們正在支持在全世界爲女童提供高質量的教育，增進能使婦女和家庭過上更健康的生活的政策，並投資於有助於各國防止並應對針對女童和婦女的暴力行徑的項目。我們還在努力制止人口販運，這種罪行對我國國內及全球數不勝數的社區造成了影響，其受害者中有很多是女童和婦女。

As we work to transform the lives of girls and women abroad, we have also redoubled our efforts to ensure there are no barriers to their success here at home. Vice President Joe Biden's 1is2many initiative is raising awareness about the high rates of teen dating violence, and my Administration is engaging school districts, college students, and community members as part of our effort to end sexual assault and domestic violence. Through the Affordable Care Act, we have expanded access to quality, affordable health care to more girls and prohibited insurers from charging them extra simply because of their gender. We continue to invest in community efforts to reduce teen pregnancy. And we have made it a priority to educate and inspire our youngest girls by increasing opportunities for high-quality preschool. As they grow, we will make certain they receive the education and training needed to succeed in the jobs of today and tomorrow — jobs that we are working to ensure will offer equal pay for equal work.

我們在海外努力改變女童和婦女的生活的同時，還加倍努力確保她們在國內取得成功不會遇到障礙。副總統喬·拜登（Joe Biden）發起的“一個都太多”（1is2many ）行動計劃正在提高對於青少年約會暴力比例之高的認知，而且本屆政府正在同各個學區、大學生及社區成員接觸，作爲我們制止性攻擊及家庭暴力的努力之一。通過《合理醫療費用法》（Affordable Care Act），我們擴大了向更多的女童提供高質量的、收費合理的醫療服務的渠道，並禁止保險公司僅僅因爲她們的性別就收取更高的費用。我們繼續投資於減少少女懷孕的社區努力。我們還通過增加高質量的學前教育機會將教育及激勵最年幼的女童作爲一項工作重點。在她們的成長過程中，我們將確保她們得到在今日和明日的工作崗位上取得成功所需的教育和培訓——我們正在努力確保這些工作提供同工同酬。

As Americans, we must see the hopes and dreams of our own girls and realize that these are the same dreams of girls around the world. We cannot afford to silence the girl who holds the key to changing her community, or the voice that speaks up to call for peace or further scientific discovery. We cannot allow violence to snuff out the aspirations of young women in America, and we must not accept it anywhere in the world. Today, we resolve to do more than simply shine a light on inequality. With partners across the globe, we support the girls who reach for their future in the face of unimaginable obstacles, and we continue our work to change attitudes and shift beliefs until every girl has the opportunities she deserves to shape her own destiny and fulfill her boundless promise.

身爲美國人，我們必須看到我們本國的女童的希望和夢想，並認識到全世界的女童也都有着同樣的夢想。我們承受不起扼殺女童聲音的後果，她們手握改變自己的社區的鑰匙，高聲呼籲實現和平或推動科學探索。我們絕不允許暴力行徑扼殺美國年輕女性的理想抱負，也絕不容忍這種事情在全世界任何地方發生。今天，我們決心做出更多的努力，不只是揭露不平等問題。我們與全球的合作伙伴攜手努力，支持面對難以想見的障礙努力開創自己的未來的女童，並將繼續努力改變態度及轉變觀念，直到每一個女童都得到她應得的機會，以打造自己的前途並實現她不可限量的前景。

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2014, as International Day of the Girl. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with programs, ceremonies, and activities that advance equality and opportunity for girls everywhere.

爲此，我，美利堅合衆國總統巴拉克•歐巴馬，以憲法（Constitution）和美國法律賦予我的權利，特此宣佈2014年10月11日爲國際女童日。我敦促全體美國人民以增進各地女童的平等和機會的項目、儀式和活動來紀念這個日子。

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

我謹於公元2014年，即美利堅合衆國獨立239年之10月10日在此簽名爲證。