By Prisca Sam-Duru

“CEE-HOPE is celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child, to remind the world that the Nigerian girl and girls anywhere in the world matter.

“Why the world decided to set every October 11 aside for girls is because they are endangered species in the world.

“The girl child is just like an egg that can easily be damaged through teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse etc, hence, the need to protect them.”

Those were words by CEE-HOPE’s founder and Executive Director, Betty Abah, during a conference held in Lagos, to mark the 2021 International Day of the Girl.

Tagged, ‘Digital Generation – Our Generation’, this year’s celebration of the Girl Child, was themed on bridging the gender digital divide across the globe.

It’s therefore imperative that especially amidst the pandemic, people ensure that girls get equal access to available digital devices, tech-related skills as well as job opportunities like their male counterparts.

With over two hundred girls drawn from secondary schools in Lagos, in attendance, CEE-HOPE, a Non-Governmental Organization, also seized the opportunity of the conference, to launch the CEE-HOPE’s female football team known as ‘Carol’s Queens’.

While speaking at the conference, Abah explained that “We put so much efforts to ensure we mark this day because CEE-HOPE works with children in marginalised communities, extremely at risk and vulnerable, and the girl child tops that list. 

“We celebrate the day of the girl child every year to draw the attention of policy makers and stakeholders to ensure safety of girls and address their plight.”

On the theme for this year’s celebration, she said “the world is becoming extremely digitalised especially because of covid-19, so the girl child cannot be left behind, in fact no child deserves to be left behind”, she noted, calling on every member of the society to see themselves as stakeholders in issues that concern the girl child.

Explaining reason for the all female football team, Abah said “We see a lot of energies among young girls in most of the communities that we work and we believe it is important to harness the energy and channel it into something positive.”

Addressing the participants, Broadcast journalist and girls’ rights advocate, Funke Treasure,  who encouraged the girls to always see themselves as important, advised them to effectively utilize the opportunity to get education.

She also advised them to discover their talents in time and hold on to it, saying that what they are unable to do now does not define them as it is possible that they’ll excel in same career sometime in the future.

With commitment, she told the girls, “Your dreams will come true”. 

She warned them on the dangers of teenage pregnancy, drugs, violence and any societal ills stressing that while a pregnant teenager’s education is disrupted, the boy who impregnated her continues to get education.

Treasure, who motivated the girls with her education and career experience, maintained that girls can achieve anything once they are focused and committed as “The future is female”.

Also speaking, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, Executive Director, Media Career Development Network and Board Member of CEE-HOPE Nigeria, told the girls to understand that gender is not a barrier or limitation to whatever they set to achieve in life.

He advised them to remove any form of limitation from their minds adding that they could aspire and achieve any set goal by reading and practicing it. Otufodunrin encouraged them to shun the negative side of social media but utilise its positive side to enrich their future.

While other speakers at the event; child rights activists; Amaka Nneji, Yinka Kenny who also anchored the entire conference; Oluebebe James and Rhoda Olorunfemi, spoke on the need to build sound self-esteem as well as staying safe online in a digitalized world, the Executive Director, Healing Heart Foundation, Mrs Sophy Mbamisi who avowed that the future is female, stated that girls are our future owing to fact that women are becoming very successful in the society.

Refuting the claim by some religious beliefs that girls are not important, Mbanisi said “God created girls to take charge and they should know that aspiring to be the best is in line with God’s plans for their lives.”

She charged the girls to “choose your role model well, Be modest, dress well and be in company of good people around you.”

In attendance were school girls from Perfect Praise schools, Champions International College, Heirs of Salvation, the African Church Model College, school girls from Monkey Village in Opebi, Ikeja; Otto-Ilogbo in Yaba, Lagos State; and Agbado-Oja community in Ogun State. 

Highlights of the conference included gifting of sanitary pads to the girls present; screening of a docu-drama by CEEHOPE, titled, “Rape of Justice” a short movie that captures the true life account of a rape case in a community in Ogun State and how police officers denied victim of justice; and screening of a documentary titled, ‘Give Us This Day Our Monthly Pads’, which addresses period poverty, also by CEEHOPE.

Vanguard News Nigeria