The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated that about one in every ten school-age African girls did not attend school, a situation which has aroused girls’ movements and governments around the world to upscale efforts towards protecting and promoting the rights of a girl child and more particularly the right to education.
Sharing her message to mark the International Day of The Girl Child, Reach Out Foundation Child Advocate Leticia Burnet called for stakeholders to strengthen ties towards the empowerment of a girl child by making sure that quality education is accessible to young girls.
“Education either academically or vocational play a very key role to achieve empowerment of a girl child. Knowledge and skills acquired through education help a girl child to be independent and be strong to defend themselves from exploitation.
“It is worrisome that in some scenarios poverty, discrimination and poor sanitation in schools is causing young girls to drop out from school hence on this day we are calling for families to fully fund a girl child’s education, the government to continue support paying school fees for vulnerable children and for the Civil Society to continue advocating for gender equity and equality,” she said.
Burnet further undermined malpractices in some religious sects that violate the rights of girls while encouraging families to be on the forefront to protect children.
“It is unfair to violate the rights of young girls in the name of religion. As families let us make sure that we do not expose our children to harmful religions that undermine the rights of girls,” she added
This year’s theme is “Girls’ Vision for the Future,” emphasizing the urgent need for action and the hopeful aspirations of girls globally amidst various challenges such as climate change, conflict, and poverty.
