The Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency, Ghana (SWIDA, GH) has celebrated the International Day for the Girl Child with school girls in Damankuyili, a rural community in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern region.
Overwhelming school children and teachers from the Damankuyili R/C Junior High school joined SWIDA-GH in the celebration where the Communications and Gender Officer at SWIDA-GH, Khadijatu Abdul-Samed called for the participation of boys in household chores to reduce the workload on the girl child at home and making her regular and punctual in school, this according to Khadijatu, will not only create time for the girl child to study but such practice will make the boy child gender conscious while growing up into leadership or husband in the future.
She underscored the need for girls to be assertive and confident in themselves and wherever they find themselves since it is a fundamental trait when it comes to leadership, adding that, leadership is not meant for only the male gender but for girls as well. Therefore, for girls to be able to rise to leadership positions in the future they must first develop assertiveness and confidence while they take up leadership positions in their schools. “We want to advise these girls that within the school environment they should not see themselves as timid, they should see themselves as capable of going for various leadership positions.” Khadijata Abdul-Samed added.
Ayisha Mahama is the health prefect for Damankuyili JHS; she expressed her gratitude to SWIDA-GH and their partners for coming to sensitize her and her fellow girls on a special day like the International Day of the Girl Child.
Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical formative years but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders.
The continuous investment by SWIDA-GH and partners in realizing the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability.
Girls are breaking boundaries and barriers posed by stereotypes and exclusion, including those directed at children with disabilities and those living in marginalized communities. As entrepreneurs, innovators and initiators of global movements, girls are creating a world that is relevant for them and future generations.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015 embody a roadmap for progress that is sustainable and leaves no one behind.
Background
On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
This comes after UN member states met in 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing, the countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing the rights of not only women but girls.
The Beijing Declaration is the first to specifically call out girls’ rights.
By: Prince Kwame Tamakloe/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
