The National Coordinator, Association for Orphans and Vulnerable Children NGOs In Nigeria (AONN), Dr. Grace Dafiel, has called for support for girl child in the country.
That, she said, would enable the girl child actualize her dreams.
Dafiel who made the appeal at a programme with the theme, “Nigerian Girl Child, Unscripted and Unstoppable”, held in Ibadan to mark the International Day of Girl Child, said the occasion was to celebrate the girl child on her special day.
She said a girl child is born with wing and can fly if she is not cut short, but allowed to fulfil her dreams.
She used the occasion to call on the Federal Government to do the needful and ensure the release of Leah Sharibu and other Chibok girls still in captivity of Boko Haram.
On his part, the Executive Director of Nigeria Network of NGOs, Mr. Oluseyi Oyebisi, while speaking on the importance of the girl child in any society, insisted on gender equality for every child.
He noted that a girl child needed support to be taught to be self – dependent and not see marriage as the end of life for her.
The Deputy National Coordinator (North Central) of the group, Mrs. Christy Abayomi, maintained that the girl child needed to be unscripted and unstoppable, stating that every girl needed to be educated and empowered so that her dreams and vision could be fulfilled.
It will be recalled that every October 11 has been set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child across the globe and to recognize her rights and the unique challenges the girl child faces all over the world.
It is also meant to promote the empowerment of young girls everywhere, while also advocating for the attainment of their basic human rights, like education and bodily autonomy.
