Being a girl can be tough but in some places it can also be traumatic and even deadly.

Each year, the United Nations takes a close look at the lives of females around the world and ranks 177 countries accordingly. The list, called the Gender Development Index, provides a snapshot of how being born female affects a person’s education, health and quality of life.

Here are some of the reasons Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Mali are countries where it is most difficult to be a girl.

1. Sierra Leone: Civil War
Sierra Leone’s problems stem from a decade-long civil war that ended in 2002 but left a generation scarred, displaced and forced to rebuild their lives from scratch.

When conflicts arise, girls are especially vulnerable. Militants used rape as a weapon of war, leaving up to 90 per cent of the young female victims infected with HIV.

Children struggle to survive in this hostile climate from birth. For every 1,000 babies born, 282 don’t survive the first five years. This is one of the world’s highest child mortality rates. Girls who do survive can expect to live less than 42 years.

World Vision has been working in Sierra Leone since 1978. After the cease-fire, World Vision played a role in reuniting many children with their families.

2. Burkina Faso: HIV and AIDS
The HIV and AIDS epidemic has spread throughout Burkina Faso, but no one has borne the brunt of the disease like young women. In this country, where 6.4 percent of adults are infected, women age 15 to 24 are five to eight times more likely than their male counterparts to be HIV-positive.

In many cases, these young women are married to men who must leave home for weeks or months to find work. Separated from family, the men frequent sex workers, who are often HIV-positive. When they return home, they infect their wives.

Half of those newly infected with HIV in Burkina Faso are young people. Between 120,000 and 260,000 children have been orphaned by the disease.

3. Guinea-Bissau: Female Genital Mutilation
About half the women in Guinea-Bissau have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that involves cutting away part or all of the external female genitalia. FGM is typically performed on girls age six to 14 as a ceremonial initiation into womanhood and its consequences can last a lifetime: psychological problems, sexual dysfunction or difficulty with child birth. Girls can contract HIV or die as a result of FGM when dirty blades are used in the procedure.

The Guinea-Bissau government intends to address the problem and recently hosted a national consultation on the issue. However, there is no law against FGM to date.

Continued...
Click here read about the final two worst places to be a girl.