African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) has called for equal opportunities and greater protection of the girl child from gender-based violence, and harmful practices.
The body of wives of African Heads of State and Governments made the call in a goodwill message by acting Chairperson and Nigerian First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child, 2020, themed: “My voice, our equal future.”
Buhari, in a statement by her Special Assistant, Dr. Mairo Almakura, urged African leaders to equip every girl child with quality education and new skills that would ultimately help them to be self-reliant as a woman.
“On this occasion of the International Day of the girl child, I, on behalf of my sisters, the rest of the African First Ladies, felicitate with our girls on their special day and salute their resilience in the midst of daunting challenges. That the African society is culturally tilted against the girl child is not in doubt. The onus is therefore on us as regional bodies, international development funders and partners, national governments and subnational governments, corporate bodies, civil society organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations and indeed as parents, guardians and individuals to scale up attention and resources towards supporting them to enjoy life and actualise their potentials.
“We must heed and indeed amplify their yearnings for equal opportunity and protection from gender-based violence as well as harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation that lower their self-esteem, deem their future, and cause them physical harms and needless deaths,” Mrs. Buhari said.