Group Makes Case For Girl Child Empowerment

An advocacy group, the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) has called on governments at all levels, private institutions and individuals in Nigeria to initiate policies and programmes aimed at empowering the girl child.
The CEHRD said the major constraint to gender equality was the erroneous cultural ideology that girls are inferior to their male counterparts.
A statement issued in Port Harcourt and signed by CEHRD Gender Officer, Marsha Nwanne and made available to The Tide said this against the backdrop of the recent ‘International Day for the Girl Child’ which has its theme this year as “With her: A Skilled Girl Force”.
The Centre expressed unhappiness that males were encouraged to pursue professional careers that are deemed to be challenging, while girls were perceived to be chattels that will eventually get married.
The group described the girl child as a gift to the whole world, saying, “She walks around with so much power and limitless capabilities that she might not even be aware of. Her light can be encouraged to shine brighter doused with negativity, mediocrity and stereotyping. One may wonder why topics surrounding the welfare of the girl child is gaining popularity by the day,” the CEHRD said.

Dennis Naku