TUC Seeks Enforcement Of Girl Child Rights

The women wing of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Rivers State Council, has called for the preservation of the girl child rights in the society to end abuses.

The call was made by the chairperson, of the women wing TUC, Comrade Sarah Ugbogbo during a one day seminar titled “The Girl Child Rights Preservation, Their Contemporary Role and Value for the future” held  at the community primary school hall, Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt.

Comrade Ugbogbo said the aim of the seminar was to enlighten female students in secondary schools in the state on their protection and roles in the society.

The labour leader said the seminar was to sensitise the female students for greater roles and model them as perfect women in the future.

Mrs. Ugbogbo appealed to the various tiers of government to strictly ensure that the girl child rights were accorded protection and preservation within the frame work of existing legislations.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Joeba West had commended the TUC women wing for organising the seminar, describing it as appropriate and timely.

She decried a situation where girls were deprived of basic education and development process, stressing that the best training they had only made them full time house wives with little or no formal education.

West said in the past, the adolescent girl was regarded as a property to be acquired by the opposite sex, stressing that they were object for sex and procreation, victims of early marriage, female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional practices.

The commissioner said as the years went by improved awareness had the girl child equal to her male counterpart.

She said today the girl child can contribute effectively towards development if given appropriate education.

The commissioner further said that the Beijing declaration of 1995 and the millennium development goal emphasises the need for equality development, peace, promotion of gender equality and women empowerment.

She said the position of the Rivers State Ministry of Women Affairs is the attainment of gender balance advising parents to train their female children as well as their male counterparts for the society to have sustainable development.

She called on parents to join in the struggle to eliminate all forms of discrimination and harmful traditional practices against female children.

Philip Okparaji