The International Day of the Girl Child, observed on 11 October every year, comes in 2024 with another strong call and demand for action to protect and empower girls all over the
world by ensuring that their vision for the future is not disrupted.
Thet theme is ‘Girls vision for the future
is our collective vision.’
In a statement issued in Abuja, the Sustainable Gender Action Initiative (SGAI), through its Executive Director, Dr Mufuliat Fijabi, called on the Federal Government to take immediate actions to protect and empower the girl child.
Girls, in the face of multiple and complex challenges, have remained resilient and hopeful
of a better world, the statement said. They rely on the strength of change that happens now to remove barriers in their way for hopes for a better world.
The girls of today if supported can impact positively well on families and nations of the world through growth and development.
According to UNICEF (2024), the population of girls in the world is more than 1.1 billion.
They are however faced with various challenges including malnutrition, sexual and gender
based violence, early and or forced marriage, lack of education and several more. Besides,
almost double the number of adolescent girls (one in four) compared to boys are not in any
form of education, employment or training. Also, globally, 75% of new HIV infections among adolescents occur in girls.
While the challenges girls face continue to increase and vary from one country to another,
protection of their vision for the future will gradually ease the challenges and launch them
into a future that advances their human dignity. In Nigeria, the collective role of all
stakeholders is imperative to halt the challenges girls face. Nigerian girls have the full
potential to bring about change and deserve all support to grow their potentials and to
attain a future that is not worse than now.
Sustainable Gender Action Initiative, (SGAI) therefore calls on all stakeholders, and the
Federal Government of Nigeria to take immediate action to protect and empower Nigerian girls, through speedy advancement of girls’ education, prevention of girls from all forms of harmful cultural practices, support for girls’ menstrual hygiene and protection from all
forms of sexual and gender based violence and discrimination.
With the Agenda 2030 on
Sustainable Development Goals near its milestone year, protecting and advancing the
vision of girls for the future is critical.
