The ManicaPost
MONDAY, October 11, 2021 was the International Day for the Girl Child — a day set aside to highlight the successes and challenges that the girl child faces, as well as plan how to overcome future hurdles.
This year’s theme was — Digital generation. Our generation.
We owe the Zimbabwean girl child fair space, free from discrimination, violence, and access to education if she is to rise, and compete on the global arena.
We are in the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic which has accelerated digital platforms for learning and connecting, while also highlighting girls’ diverse digital realities.
Empowering young women and girls, and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerate sustainable development.
Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, it also has a multiplier effect across all other development areas.
The gender digital divide in connectivity, devices and use, skills and jobs is real, and it is our duty as a nation to address if the digital revolution is to be enjoyed by all.
The pandemic has also exposed and exacerbated existing gender inequalities, with increasing reports of gender based violence, including domestic violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, sexual exploitation and abuse.
These adversities hinder their education, training and entry into the workforce.
The girl child has less access to education, information, communication technology and resources.
Manicaland has the highest rate of out of school girls.
They are more likely to be permanently excluded from education and at a higher risk of being left behind.
This reality calls for redoubling of efforts to ensure that education is both of good quality and equitable.
Early and forced child marriages recorded during the lockdown have devastating impacts on girls, families and communities. It is a violation of human rights and a barrier to sustainable development and peace.
For every girl who is sexually abused, 10 more cases go unreported, often because victims know their perpetrators, and find it difficult to speak out.
Living in a rural community often means girls have little knowledge of their rights, and the value of gender equality is not widely understood.
And even when sexual violence is reported, more than 70 percent of perpetrators of rape are acquitted.
Stigma, impunity and silence have allowed these abuses to continue. But now is the time for change.
We must have the courage to stop harmful practices that impoverish girls, women and their communities.
Quality education is one such special gift the girl child requires. When women are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.
This playing field has not been levelled to her advantage.
We must end early girl marriages and champion girls’ right to education.
An African adage goes: “Educating a woman is educating a whole world.”
Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during their critical formative years, but also as they mature into women.
If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world.
The girl child should continue being given priority, given that they are usually vulnerable, and thus in need of added protection and support.
We stand with our girls as they inspire, innovate and take charge of their own future.
We should strive to end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls, eliminate all forms of violence against them in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
We must eliminate all harmful practices, such as child early and forced marriage, and open the avenues to ensure their full, and effective participation, and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making.
Poverty is not an excuse for parents to marry their children in exchange of food or money.
There is also an unfounded belief that sleeping with a young virgin will cure HIV and Aids.
Religious and traditional leaders must engage, and influence families, and communities, and desist from being gatekeepers of these and other harmful traditions and norms. Instead, they must help unlock challenges, and remove these barriers, and fight to provide equal rights and opportunities to girls.
Men and boys should stand in solidarity with women and girls.
They have the power to challenge social norms, advocate for change in their communities, and stand in solidarity with women.
These abuses aren’t just a women’s issue, but a human rights issue, and it must end.
