The First Lady of Benue State, Mrs. Eunice Ortom has tasked all stakeholders, particularly parent and boys to always support and empower the girl child to enable her realize her full potentials.
Mrs. Ortom stated this while addressing participants, school pupils including boys and girls across Benue, at an event to mark the 2019 International Day of the Girl Child at the J.S. Tarkra Foundation in Makurdi.
The programme was organized by the first lady through her NGO, Eunice Spring of Life Foundation, ESLF, and is being implemented in partnership with Benue NGO Netwotk, (BENGONET), CSOs and
Quest Aid Foundation.
The theme of the celebration was “Empowering Girls For a Brighter Tomorrow” while the topic of discussion was “The Role Of Boys In Empowering Girls For A Brighter Tomorrow.”
The First lady described the theme as apt saying state governmentt has been creating awareness on training of the girl child because both boys and girls are same and girls should not be stereotyped.
According to her, “Sit down, you are a girl”, “You can’t do it, you are a girl”, “You can’t read that course, are you a boy? “The place of the girl is in the kitchen” are among the numerous stereotypes and biases militating against the girl child.
She therefore insisted they must be stopped.
The First Lady represented by the Commissioner of Women Affairs, Mrs. Tabitha Igirgi, expressed joy that more girls are being enroled into schools and are finishing and acquiring skills to better their lives.
“They are also pursuing carreers that were hitherto thought as exclusive to the boys.”
Mrs. Ortom therefore challenged stakeholders to uphold gender equality as well as step up the protection of the rights of girls and women in the society.
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She reminded parents that the future and well-being of the girl child is largely dependent on the dynamics at play in the homes and urged parents to always accord the same level of respect to the boys and the girls.
She also challenged teachers, religious leaders and parents to raise a generation of boys who will be kind, compassionate and sympathetic to the plight of girls.
Some of the girls who spoke to our correspondent decried the level of ill treatment of girls naming sexual abuse, forced labour, child marriages, trafficking among others calling on government to protect them from molestation as well as uphold their rights as girls.
Leader of the selected girls who came from IDPs Camps, John Azenda also lamented the plight of the girls who are living in camps especially that they are out of school.
He appealed to government to help the IDPs in providing learning materials and teachers to guide the adolescents in camps.
Speaking earlier, Executive Secretary Teaching Service Board, TSB, Mr.Wilfred Uji, said girls and boys should be given equal rights in the home to showcase their talents and realize their dreams.
Uji, a Professor of History said cultural challenges and kinds of stereotypes inherited from parents and the society was the bane of the girl child development and called for a change of mindset.
He therefore admonished the children to avoid, among other vices, cultism, drug abuse and truancy saying they are the three things that can destroy anyone whether they are girls or boys.
Our Correspondent reports that the event featured activities such symposium, Dance, Drama, Music, question and answer sessions as well as interactive session.
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