As the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child, the Executive Chairman of Etsako East Local Government Area, Hon. (Princess) Benedicta Attoh, has expressed the need for female children to take the lead in the larger society by personally breaking down every barrier and stereotypes that the girl child is not important in the society.
“We are in a global system in a global world where civilization has left many nations behind. Nigeria is one among many nations that globalization has left behind in terms of the value for Girl Children. Globalization has no respect for gender as life is all about what you can offer and not about gender,” she said.
According to Benjamin Atu, Chief Press Secretary to Executive Chairman Etsako East, the chairman tasked Africa leaders and the Nigerian government to wake up to her moral obligations to girl children by ensuring that they are educated. Education is the greatest weapon in correcting gender disparities, she said.
The first elected female council chairman in Edo North frowned against the high level of girl children that are still labouring under early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and the burden of care of ill parents and younger siblings.These fundamental responsibilities, she said, have in no little way jeopardised the opportunity of many to attend school and be educated.
Hon. Attoh called on the girl child to emphasize their uniqueness and compete with their male folks in various spheres of life in spite of the unique challenges girls face worldwide in promoting their rights, education and empowerment.
According to her, “The key for Girl child liberation is in our hands as females. It is now Orthodox to wait for the Girl Child to be liberated by the law of the land, let us liberate ourselves from the strangulating and inhibiting laws of our culture and traditions by manifesting our best wherever we are given an opportunity to display our potential.”
The Etsako East chairman blamed the high level of poverty in our society on the low level of the girl child education, maintaining that, the more females that are educated the faster the society will break out from poverty. This is because there are several benefits attached when a girl child is well educated, and some of these benefits include reducing poverty, improving the health of women and children, delay in marriage against early marriage that hinders education, reducing female genital cutting, increase self-confidence and decision-making power as well as increase the female visibility in public and private sectors.
“Educating a girl child will enable her to realize her full potential to act, question, think, and judge independently when necessary. However, the lack of this weapon of education will deny her the necessary skills to advance her status in society, hence the continuous discrimination against girls.
“As a female chairman of Etsako East, I want Etsako East girls to be inspired that they have me to always make a case for them. My office is constantly open to receive and support you as well as encourage our girls to fulfill their dreams. You can count on me as I wish you all happy Girls Day”, she said.
