With confidence my birth was announced, not so for many girls in Asia,
Africa... In your corner of the world, the phrase, "Wetin your
neighbour born?" (Kini ara ile e bi? In Yoruba) and the implication may be
lost on you, but not so for thousands of women who hang their heads and shy
away from looking at the child after birthing their kind.
Many have had to welcome another bride for failure to
"produce" a son, many kept "producing unlimited" until they
had a son. For others, even where the man celebrates and is satisfied with the
birth of girls, other women harass the woman to continue the "production".
For some, this has led to divorce especially where the family resource
is stretched as a result. Sadly some are compelled to sign up for abortion and
in worst case scenario, abortion is suggested and induced without the knowledge
of the woman once scan reveals feminine features. When many hear female
infanticide, fingers point to India but read your history books and you'd see
that it spans across ages and continents. For most, it was a way of controlling
population, for others it was a special sacrifice to a mute god!
The days of flogging girls for playing boys' game (football), dreaming
to be engineers, daring to campaign for political post, may have eroded but
don't you still hear statements like, "Girls are not good in
mathematics!" "Boy's don't cry!" "How come a girl came
first in your class?" "All your education will end in the
kitchen!" Perhaps you have also seen an all-female
choir with boys as lead singers or drummers! Girls
are still being subjected to gender based abuse - sexual exploitation,
child-marriage, genital mutilation, forced organ harvesting... That tells you
we are still far from done in the task of emancipating the girl child!
Today, I join others to commemorate the International Day of the Girl
Child which was instituted in 2012 by the United Nations, as I shout
out loud the theme for 2015: "The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for
2030".
Before we can move positively and progressively towards 2030, the girl
child must survive today. The genuine smile and laughter of the girl child must
be kept alive and far away from brutality, abuse, rape,
prostitution, trafficking, early marriage, genital mutilation and all
forms of discrimination against her person. The rights of the girl child, like
the rights of the boy child, are human rights and must be protected.
Over and beyond all the hypes, I implore women (and men) to accept the
birth of girls as a priceless gift from God. I encourage you, to train girls,
not as boys but as girls; open them up to opportunities beyond the restrictive
walls of the classroom, encourage them to innovate and boldly light up a torch
to help them see that they are capable of holding up their own. Let their
confidence receive a boost by the fact that, even in the myopic branding of our
space as "man's world", their positioning as nurturers keep men living,
learning and labouring.
If your girl is a baby, find time to nurture her; let her know that
humans care not cage. If your girl is a child, find time to talk to her;
let her learn from you that humans talk not bark. If your girl is a teen,
find time to take her out and share experience, let her learn that she is to be
loved not abused... If your girl is a woman, find time to encourage and
appreciate her, let her know that she is valued far above rubies!!!
If any girl in your area of influence has been caged, terrorised,
abused, devalued, violated... Please give her hope by caring, speaking, sharing
and loving. When you treat girls right; the boys will take a cue from
you... Building a better world starts with you and I.
A house-help was beaten and battered. When I saw her, the physical pain
was long gone but the scars were visible just like the emotional scare and scar
the brutality inflicted on this human that is someday expected to nurture
others. How could she ever give what she never got?
After two visits to a girls’ remand home in Lagos, some of the inmates warmed
up to me. No, they were not supposed to share but obviously they needed hearing
ears. I listened and fought back the tears as one narrated how her mother fed
her faeces! It was her race away from home in search of survival that landed
her in the home with other girls – few criminals, many criminalised. Another
narrated how an unrelated uncle turned her into a sex object, rather than her
aunty standing up for her, they teamed up to send her packing… The stories are
endless. But should another girl come by you without the story changing?
On
the far extreme are those who pamper and spoil their girls, nurturing them with
furs, purrs and the notion that they need not lift a finger as someday the
right man with the right manuscript will come and sing them to wealth. The
brain and beauty bestowed on them is channeled towards one goal and one goal
alone, a life of wealth. This is equally to the detriment of such girls because
they never are strong enough to look deep within for the greatness divinely
locked in them.
You can help change ONE girl’s story. You owe a moral duty to let such
wickedness stop with you, even if you missed out on that care. Forgive your
past to heal your future. Look around you, there are girls crying out for care.
If all hands are on deck, the goals for girls can be sustained and advanced.
Formally or informally, invest in girls and promote zero tolerance for abuse. Educate
One! Educate More!!! In school, I learned to interact and understand
people of other cultures and faiths. #62milliongirls don't have that chance. You
can #HelpGirlsLearn.
Together, we can ensure the girl child is positioned to tap into a lifetime
that offers real life opportunities and is focused on the vision of empowerment.
Someday, the ills directed at the girl child will be over, because of
YOU. UBUNTU!
Dr. Omolola Omoteso-Famuyiwa is the Project
Director of Cares Global Network and can be reached via
willowsmagazine@gmail.com
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