The Boys Scouts of America, one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with more than 4.5 million members, has made a historic decision to accept girls to participate in your full program, thus eliminating the gender differences that have existed since its creation.
The measure was taken last Wednesday, coinciding with The International Day of the Girl, after a unanimous vote of its board of directors. Starting in 2018, girls will be accepted into the Boys Scouts for the first time after more than 100 years of the organization's history.
A historic decision
The Boys Scouts organization was founded in 1910 with the aim of promoting the self-reliance of children and young people and instilling certain values and skills, through the participation of a wide range of recreational and educational activities.
The nuance is that, until last Wednesday, the organization did not accept that girls participated in their entire program since childhood, nor were they allowed to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, the most prestigious and recognized Boys Scout badge that brings long-term benefits in both academic and professional settings.
As of January 2018, Girls may join the Club Scout program for the first time, aimed at children between 7 and 10 years old, and over the next year, other age ranges will be gradually incorporated until the program is completed in 2019.
The decision was made after conducting a national survey in which American parents indicated their desire to enroll their daughters in the full program.
"We believe it is essential to evolve our programs to meet the needs of families interested in having their daughters live positive experiences that will mark their lives," Michael Surbaugh, executive director of the Boys Scouts, told NBC News.
At the beginning of the year, the National Women's Organization has already revealed this need for change and urged the Boys Scouts to admit the girls, supporting a New York teenager's desire to reach the rank of Eagle Scout just as her brother had achieved.
"I just want to do the same thing that boys do in the Boy Scouts: win the merit badges and win the rank of Eagle Scout" - he said - "I think girls should have the opportunity to be members of the organization that we want, regardless of our gender. "
Same opportunities for everyone
This historic change was announced last Wednesday, during the celebration of the International Day of the Girl established by the United Nations in 2012, as a day to celebrate the equal opportunities for all girls and adolescents in the world.
For Ahmad Alhendawi, general secretary and executive director of the International Scout movement, this step is an important and necessary change, and he said so in his Twitter account:
I welcome @boyscouts decision to integrate girls in their programs. On #DayoftheGirl, we reaffirm #Scouting commitment to girls empowerment. pic.twitter.com/0t5a2Z6W1t
- Ahmad Alhendawi (@AhmadAlhendawi) October 11, 2017
"On # DíaDeLaNiña we reaffirm the commitment of the Scout movement to the empowerment of girls”
The measure of accepting girls in the organization, is added to another important one that was taken at the beginning of the year to accept transsexual boys who identified themselves as boys, thus eliminating the obligatory nature of submit the birth certificate to register.
Small, but at the same time enormous steps, that are gradually eliminating the gender differences that exist in society since childhood, and that allow boys and girls to have the same opportunities for choice and participation in any recreational activity and educational
Via NBC News
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