A nine-year-old girl, Umma-Aiman Bala Dan, has appealed to the Bauchi State Government to come to the aid of the girl child by providing free and quality education for girls and adopting reproductive health education in the school curriculum in the state.
Umma-Aiman made the plea during the one-day “Dialogue Season with Young Women and Adolescents to Commemorate 2022 International Day of the Girl” with the theme: “Equal Power in Leadership Decision Making and Political Participation for Girls” organised by Plan International on Wednesday in Bauchi.
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Umma-Aiman, a Primary 5 pupil at Bluebird Elementary and High School, Bauchi, enumerated some of the challenges facing the girl child, saying, “The challenges girls face in our communities; firstly, we are challenged by gender inequality, this is a major problem, where the boy child is given preference in terms of education and other opportunities for self-development, especially in digital skills, more than the girl child.
“In Bauchi State, recent statistics has shown that we have over one million out-of school-children, of which 60 per cent are girls hawking on streets. As you all know, the girl child is an important part of society and that is why we are celebrating her worldwide.
“As a girls, we have the impediment of menstrual hygiene and reproductive healthcare which are often neglected. Most girls do not have access to sanitary pads due to economic challenges.
“More importantly, most girls lack the knowledge of self-care during menstrual cycle and reproductive health because it is not taught in schools and some parents also lack awareness. These are few among other critical needs of the girl child. Others are early and forced marriage, sexual and gender-based violence and poor healthcare system.”
She further said, “On behalf of the girl child in Bauchi State, I hereby appeal to the state government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), our panelists, the media, the audience and good citizens of Nigeria to come to our aid by providing free and quality education for us, adopting reproductive health education in the school curriculum and providing free sanitary pads.”
