Let’s support the girl-child

A girl-child is a powerful leader in this world. Therefore, educating a girl should be a strategic development priority. A girl-child needs to be educated, respected and supported.  Given a chance to pursue her dreams, a girl-child can turn out to be an important and influential leader in society. 

Parents, teachers, mentors, and guardians, and society should always be there for the girl-child. We all need to know that girls have the same right to education as boys. An educated girl can make informed choices. Educating a girl can saves lives and build stronger families, communities as well as economies. The 2014 census found that although there were similar levels of primary school education between boys and girls, there were significant disparities in performance, level of class room engagement and access to many other facilities. 

The United Nation Girls Education Initiative (UNEI) reported that more than 700,000 girls in Uganda from the age of 12, have never attended school. In fact, around half of girls between the ages of 15 to 24 are illiterate and four in five girls do not attend high school. In trying to realise their dreams, girls in school face a number of challenges, including sexual abuse, defilement, rape, early pregnancies, school dropouts, and menstruation uncertainties. Menstrual hygiene is fundamental to the dignity and well-being of women and girls. It is an important aspect of the basic hygiene, which every woman and girl has a right to it.

Ireen Twongirwe,
ireentwongirwe64@gmail.com