Int’l Day of Girl Child: CAMAC Calls for Total Elimination of Discrimination Against Girls

By Achadu Gabriel, kaduna
The Center for Media Advocacy for Mother and Child (CAMAC), has called on all stakeholders join hands in ensuring all forms of discrimination against girls are totally eliminated in Nigeria.
Executive Director of CAMAC, Alex Uangbaoje who made the call in a release commemorating the 2020 “International Day of the Girl Child”, with the theme: “My voice, our equal future”, noted that treating the girls like second class in the society is no longer accepted saying time has come for their voice to heard.” The time has come for us all to work together to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls, especially negative cultural attitudes and practices against girls. Promote and protect the rights of girls and increase awareness of their needs and potential. “Eliminate discrimination against girls in education, skills development and training. Eliminate discrimination against girls in health and nutrition. “Eliminate the economic exploitation of child labour and protect young girls at work. Eradicate violence against girls, Promote girls’ awareness of and participation in social, economic and political life. and strengthen the role of the family in improving the status of girls. “he said.
CAMAC, also called on governments at all levels to fulfill the promises made to girls 25 years ago in Beijing, China, that they would “take all necessary steps to safeguard their equal rights and ensure that girls achieve their full potential globally.
“World leaders promised to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against girls, to provide them opportunities on an equal basis with boys, to promote and protect their rights, to eliminate the economic exploitation and to empower them to participate in social, economic, political and cultural life. They were promised an enabling environment, where their spiritual, intellectual and material needs for survival, protection and development are met.”
The International Day of the Girl, is commemorated every year on 11 October, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face all over the world. It is 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.
This year’s International Day of the Girl focuses on their demands to: “Live free from gender-based violence, harmful practices, and HIV and AIDS, Learn new skills towards the futures they choose, Lead as a generation of activists accelerating social change”
CAMAC, therefore called on the Nigerian girls to participate in a youth-led digital activation being launched globally and come with a digital activism campaign, aims at raising the diversity of their voices and their vision for a reimagined future.
CAMAC is a media advocacy group that focus on advocating for policies and programmes that favour vulnerable women, adolescent girls and children in areas of education, health, child’s rights, protection, development and survival, while also drawing the attention of government and other stakeholders to their plight, with the view to finding lasting solutions to their problem. As well as creating awareness and sensitizing the public on the above areas.