By Joyceline Natally Cudjoe
The 6th
International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC) was marked on Wednesday in Accra
with an appealed to Ghanaians to advance gender equality.
The event which was
held under the global theme “Girls’ progress =Goals’ progress: A Global Girl
Data Movement” witnessed pupils from various schools being educated on how to
fight for their right as females.
The programme which was
organised by Power to Girls Foundation (PGF), Women in Law and Development in
Africa (WILDAF) and Crossroad
International (CI) aimed to highlight and address
the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girl’s empowerment and the
fulfillment of their human rights.
Ms. Djifa Ahado, the
First Secretary (Development) and Senior Programme Analyst of the Canada High
Commission who read a speech on behalf of the Government of Canada said girls
are powerful constituency for shaping a sustainable world.
“There are 1.1 billion girls
in the world today and they are powerful for shaping a sustainable world that is
better for everyone,” she said.
She indicated that girls
are talented and could drive forward the developmental agenda of the country,
adding that if society quit discriminating against the girl child, there would
be an immense benefit that would hone a brighter future for the country.
Ms. Ahado noted that girls
are very creative as such their challenges should be addressed to eliminate the
intergenerational transmission of poverty and violence in achieving equitable
and sustainable development outcomes.
“You are brimming with
talents and creativity but your dreams and potentials may be thwarted by
discrimination, violence and lack of equal opportunities,” she said.
The Member of Parliament
for Korle Klottey, Dr. Zenator Agyeman-Rawlings in her remarks urged Ghanaians
to desist from verbally assaulting politicians saying, “this act has shun many
women from rising up in the political landscape because they do not want to be
the subject of abuse.”
She said the landscape
of politics could be changed if society quit abusing females verbally, adding
that women and girls should be inspired in order for them to contribute their
quota to nation building.
Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings
further stated that girls have the potentials to change the world thus they
should be empowered for more equitable and prosperous future by solving issues
that hinder their socio-economic growth.
She advised the youth in
academia to be truthful, stressing the need for discipline and right consciousness
to promote peace, sustainable culture and integrity of the country.
“Education is not all about reading and
writing, it is also about right conscience and discipline that can make good
impact on the lives of others,” she advised.
Ms. Mary Achieng Ojuka,
the Marketing Manager of Fay International Limited, producers of Faytex Pads
addressed the challenges girls face during menstruations and educated them on
menstrual hygiene management.
She bemoaned that some
girls on the African continent either missed days at school or dropped out of
school entirely because they did not have access to appropriate facilities to
manage their menstruation.
Ms. Ojuka pledged her
support to irradiate such situation; she distributed Faytex pads to the pupils.
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