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Some stakeholders in girls’ education have organized different programs to commemorate the International Day of the Girl this year.
In the municipality of Adentan in the Greater Accra Region, hundreds of girls from the WASS Experimental Basic School held a procession through some of the main streets of the municipality to draw public attention to the girl.
In the metropolis of Tamale, a debate on the empowerment of girls was held to mark the day.
Both events took place last Friday.
International Girl’s Day was celebrated yesterday, October 11, and is commemorated around the world in recognition of the rights of girls and the unique challenges they face around the world.
The theme for this year’s commemoration was: “My voice, our egalitarian future.”
Debate
In the debate in Tamale, three female students from Ridge Junior High School (JHS) spoke in favor of the motion: “Empowering Girls – A Catalyst for Ghana’s Sustainable Development”, while another group of three girls from the demonstration of Choggu JHS in Sagnarigu the municipality spoke against.
At the end of the contest, Ridge JHS won the debate and will represent the Northern Region in a national symposium and debate to be held today in Accra to cap off the national commemoration of the day.
The two discussion teams received awards for exhibiting in-depth knowledge of the issues affecting girls’ empowerment and how they could be addressed.
The debate was organized by the Northern Region Gender Department, in partnership with NORSAAC, a civil society organization, and the Ghana Education Service (GES), with the support of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and other development partners. .
Concentrated efforts
Speaking at the discussion forum, the Interim Regional Director for Gender North, Ms. Bushira Alhassan, called for concerted efforts from all segments of society to help eliminate all forms of harmful cultural practices, such as child marriage, child discrimination, teenage pregnancy and sexual relations and gender-based violence, which continued to prevent adolescent girls from growing up to reach their full potential in life.
He said that within the framework of the International Day of the Girl in the world, “let’s take the opportunity to be inspired by what adolescent girls see as the change they want, the solutions, big and small, that they lead and demand around the world.” .
He also called for the deliberate participation of parents, teachers and other stakeholders in promoting sexual and reproductive health rights, access to education, and free expression at the local, regional and national levels.
The Girls’ Education Officer of the North Regional Directorate of Education, Ms. Linda Amoah, who was the head of the debate judges, praised the debate participants and said that the education of girls in the region had improved significantly.
The Northern Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Emmanuel Horlortu, advised girls to take responsibility for their safety and avoid following the her friends to places where her safety is not guaranteed to avoid being sexually assaulted.
Procession
The hour-long procession through the streets of Adentan was organized by the Girls’ Education Network (GEN), a group of civil society organizations (CSOs), government institutions and international partners, including Plan International and Camfed, a pan-African movement. in girls’ education.
After the procession, the GEN Convenor, Ms. Benedicta Tenni Seidu, explained that the commemorative event took place on Friday because the day of celebration itself falls on Sunday, when students can be engaged with their families and also involved in activities. religious.
“We decided to celebrate ours on Friday, so everyone can have time to go to church and do other business on Sunday,” he said.
Ms. Seidu, who is also the director of the Girls’ Education Unit at GES, said that GEN chose Adentan Sakora for the commemoration because she had realized the need to support the education of all children in the community.
“We have noticed that many girls here stay with people who are not their own parents, so sometimes the performance of housework and the management they find at home affect their schooling,” he added.
Background
The UN chose October 11, 2012 as the International Day of the Girl, making October 11 of each year a day in support of opportunities for girls and an occasion to raise awareness of gender inequality. faced by girls around the world based on their gender.
Inequalities girls face include lack of access to education, nutrition, legal rights, health care, and discrimination and violence and forced child marriages.
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