Intl Day of the Girl Child: SWS Edo Chapter Calls for Collective Effort of Stakeholders in the Protection of their Rights.
As the world marks the International Day of the Girl-Child on October 11 with the Theme: Our Time is Now – Our Rights, Our Future, the Standup for Women Society (SWS), Edo State has called on all well meaning people, parents, guardians, care givers, corporate organizations, law enforcement agencies, lawyers, members of the judiciary, security agencies, and other paramilitary agencies to team up to end the Discriminatory practices and other forms of abuse of the girl-child, including sexual molestation, exploitation and servitude, denial of basic education, early marriage, among other vices.
As a women-centred development organization, we believe that the overall well-being of the Girl-child is paramount, as they are the future we intend to leverage on to continue in the legacies of nation building in partnership with the male counterparts. This therefore cannot be wished away, that the story of a people’s future cannot be complete without girls as the building block of life.
Hence, it is important that their fundamental human rights as entrenched in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(as Amended) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are fully protected.
Training the Girl-child, ensuring their basic needs are met, and their dignity are upheld are the first steps towards protecting them from societal influence.
We therefore call on all to team up to end all forms of molestation, sexual abuse, discriminatory practices and violence in all forms, including trafficking in girls.
We will continue to deploy all the machineries at our disposal to protect the Girl child, including all the legal instruments, to defend their rights and see to the prosecution of offenders. Let’s unite!
Happy International Day of the Girl Child.
Liberator Daisy Osunde
Chairperson
Liberator Grace Ijeoma Umeh
Secretary