Jenny Martin of Ballater Rainbow group called on politicians to sign up to the Girls Matter campaign with DJ Gemma Cairney

A young Girlguiding Scotland member from Aberdeenshire is urging all girls eligible to vote in this year’s general election to make their voices heard – after taking her calls for change directly to Westminster.

Jenny Martin, 20, joined a host of high-profile female politicians and BBC Radio One presenter Gemma Cairney at a special event held in the UK Parliament recently to champion the issues affecting girls and young women.

Hosted by Girlguiding and Women’s Aid, Jenny, who is a Leader at 1st Ballater Rainbow group, called on politicians to sign up to the Girls Matter campaign and commit to eight key changes that will improve girls’ lives, including addressing sexual harassment in schools and getting more women in Parliament.

Speaking afterwards she said: “This election is a great chance for girls to speak out about the change they want to see – so it’s vital that every one of us uses our vote.

“Girlguiding research shows that more than half of young women feel like they’re not being listened to by politicians.

“I hope to see more girls and women voting at this election than ever so that every politician sits up and notices our calls for change.”

In the 2010 general election more than nine million women didn’t use their vote.

Just 39% of women aged 18-24 turned out to vote, compared to 50% of men the same age.

Denise King, Girlguiding Scotland’s chief executive, added: “During last year’s referendum we saw a record high level of political engagement amongst young people in Scotland.

“We’d like to see this trend continue and passionately believe in encouraging our members to use their right to vote.

“We believe that in order to see positive change in the lives of girls and women in the UK, all girls need to shout out and make sure that politicians have no choice but to listen to them.”