As 2018 marks one hundred years since women were able to vote, it is only fair that we discuss another success, a minor one, but a success nonetheless. The GirlGuiding association was set up by Agnes Baden-Powell after her brother founded the Boy Scouts. The Girl Guides was set up as an organisation to give girls a space to be themselves and create new friendships, and since 1910 this has remained one of their main goals as well as increasing young girls’ confidence to give them the belief that they can achieve anything. I am lucky enough to be a part of the GirlGuiding Association and I was able to interview some of the people who help to keep the Guiding Association running – Brownie and Guide Leader, Wendy Abbs and Young Leader, Hannah Attridge. 

Why is GirlGuiding so important?
“It helps girls become independent young women, try things they have never done before and make new friends” – W.Abbs
“It gives the girls a chance to be themselves and create skills that they will keep for life. As well as that, in this day and age specifically, it is vital that children take time out from the virtual reality and social media to build relationships” – H.Attridge 

Why do you think GirlGuiding has become popular over the last few years?
“As girls are able to have fun and live experiences that they wouldn’t outside of GirlGuiding” – H.Attridge

Why do you think girls all around the world choose to participate and what makes it a global sensation?
“If we go by our unit, it’s fun and different from other things” – W.Abbs
“They choose to join as it is a microcosm that’s really special, we can all connect and come together as one, no matter what age, colour or culture” – H.Attridge 

Do you think GirlGuiding will continue in the future and how far do you think it will evolve?
“Yes, I think it will continue but I also think it will drop many traditions” – W.Abbs 
“I think GirlGuiding will continue as long as we make sure it does, it might slip away depending on how society progresses but if we make sure the girls continue to see how amazing and special GirlGuiding is, they will continue to come” – H.Attridge 

Personally, I believe that GirlGuiding empowers girls from a young age and this helps them in the future when fighting for a significant place in society.