By Omoruyi Patricia Osayomore
October 11th each year is a day adopted by the United Nations to celebrate the girl child.
On this day globally, progress and challenges against the girl child are noted and solutions are sought to tackle them alongside celebrating the girl child’s abilities and contributions to humanity.
Since the adoption of this date, a stock of progress has been noted in the girl child’s status, which would not have been possible without optimal contributions and support made by different governments of some States and Countries in ensuring transformation and gender equality for the girl child.
Gender equality, self-realization and identity are key determining factors to economic development and sustainability.
But in many States and Countries, discrimination and violence against the girl child and women are still very rampant; however, some regions have broken the barrier of gender inequality.
A glaring example is Edo State where the current government led by Governor Godwin Obaseki has not shirked in its commitment to balancing numbers of female political appointees infused into different strata of the State, ranging from the economy, political space and civil service among other sectors.
In Edo State, increased attention to issues relating to the girl child is top priority for the government. More opportunities have been accorded the girl child and women in the area of policymaking and with a high number of girls in both public and private schools.
The support by the State Government has made their voices to be heard not only at the State level, but also globally.
Despite the few developmental challenges the State is grappling with, the current administration keeps investing in the future of the girl child, convinced that women and girls have huge potential to contribute to the development of the State.
The girl child has access to education, further buttressing the 2022 global theme for the International Day of the Girl Child: “Our Time is Now — Our Rights, Our Future.”
With the series of trainings, education and sense of identity granted the Girl child in Edo, coupled with their creativity and resilience; Girls are ready to take charge of their time and future to sustain the already established rapid growth and transformation in the State.
Numerous female students in Edo and globally have demonstrated at different occasions that given the required skills and opportunities, they can be the change agents in the State and global education ecosystem.
The global vision is that, with collective responsibility, in no distant time, investment in the girl child will impact more on communities.
