Nigerian girls have potential to bring change, says SGAI

By Jethro Ibileke

A civil society organisation, the Sustainable Gender Action Initiative, (SGAI), has said that Nigerian girls have the full potential to bring about change in the country.

The Girl-Child day is celebrated every 11 October. This year’s edition has the theme: “Girl’s Vision for the Future”.

The organisation which focuses on inclusive governance and advocacy against sexual and gender based violence stated this in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Mufullat Fijabi (Ph.D).

It made a strong call and demanded for action to protect and empower girls all over the world by ensuring that their vision for the future is not disrupted.

“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,” the statement said.

It therefore called 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.

SGAI further noted that as the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals near its milestone year, protecting and advancing the vision of girls for the future is critical.

The statement said further: “Girls’ vision for the future is our collective vision. Girls In the face of multiple and complex challenges have remained resilient and hopeful of a better world. 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, 752 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.”