What is the future for the girl child?

The Monitor Editor | Tuesday May 10, 2022 06:00

On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl-Child, to recognise girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

The International Day of the Girl-Child based on information provided by the United Nations on their Website: un.org, focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

Sadly, here we are in 2022 and we are still grappling with issues, among others, of defilement and it is heartbreaking that to this day some parents/guardians who are supposed to be protecting their young girls are selling them to older men for material gain.

Just last week a local newspaper carried a tragic article where a young girl was having an affair with an older man, and shockingly the parents of the young girl seemed to encourage the affair because the older man had built the family a two-and-a-half house. We all know that life can be tough, but if we as a society see the girl-child as a ticket out of poverty and struggle, we still have a long way to go. As such parents are not only going to sell their underage children to sick paedophiles, but they are also abusers who believe their money earns them the right to abuse womenfolk.

A parent is supposed to jealously protect their children, both the girl and boy-child, and instill in them a sense of pride that will empower them to want to grow up to be independent adults who will contribute meaningfully to their community and eke a good honest living. A good parent will get concerned when they see their child exhibiting bad behaviour, including hanging around grown men who have turned themselves into predators. But sadly some parents encourage such behaviours because they want money from the older men.

We have many cases where underage girls end up falling pregnant and dropping out of school, and sadly most of the cases go unreported because the parents are only interested in what the paedophile can do for them, and are careless about the future of their own child. Young girls just like young boys have a right to education and also have a right to enjoy all the stages of their childhood until they reach womanhood.

The government should review its laws and take action against parents who conceal cases of defilement or even those who send their children to grown men. Those parents should also face the wrath of the law because they would have failed in their duties as parents! Let's come together as a society and defeat this heinous crime. Report parents who shamelessly sell their children to grown men! Let's work together to secure the future of our young girls!