Canberra girls sing it out loud and clear for International Day of the Girl Child

The Girls Take Flight song and video was put together by Canberra youth support worker Luke Ferguson and his son Elliot, through their band Battlebird, and features 10 inspirational girls from around the nation, including Watson sisters Mila and Lily Wilson, aged 9 and 7 respectively, and Ainslie's Eloise Higgins, 14.

Luke, who for the purposes of the band goes by Lucky Luke and always wears a helmet [think Daft Punk], said the song and video were recorded entirely during lockdown.

The girls recorded their piece of the song on an iPhone and filmed their section of the video against a green screen. It was put together by Luke and Elliot in Canberra.

"It all happened very organically and it was a real collective effort," Luke said.

The lyrics are about girls having no barriers to do anything and be anything - "we aimed for the stars, now we're outta sight!" - something that resonated with Eloise, the oldest of the singers.

"I think it's very important girls take up space and be loud and do what they want," she said.

"The skies are the limit but sometimes people say, 'You can't' and that's just not true."

The girls will celebrate the release of their song and video on Monday with a Zoom party.

The United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child this year seeks commitments from world leaders for "bold gender equality impacts" and the closure of the "gender digital divide".

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