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By Jon Egie
As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the 2021 International Day of the Girl Child, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has said that every girl-child should be given the opportunity to harness and realise their full potentials in life.
Senator Omo-Agege stated this in Abuja on Monday in his goodwill message to commemorate this year’s International Day of the Girl Child.
The event was organised by the Federal Ministry of Education.
The Deputy President of the Senate described the theme of the celebration: ‘Digital generation. Our generation’ as apt and encouraged every girl-child in the country to remain confident and focused in the pursuit of their goals.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Otive Igbuzor, the Delta Central lawmaker restated the commitment of the National Assembly to always make good laws meant to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl-child..
“On the side of the legislature which I represent, we have not been resting on our oars. Firstly, Nigeria is signatory to typical international charters that seek to protect the girl child. These include the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 1979, among others.
“Secondly, we have a collection of statutes that address issues of discrimination and undue restriction of the girl. They include the Child Rights Act (2003) with specific clauses that protect the girl child; the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (2015), also with specific clauses that protect women from violence that could undermine their psyche and self-worth, among others.
“We are also aware of the popular Bill for an Act to prevent, prohibit and redress Sexual Harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions and for matters concerned therewith (2019), which I had the privilege to sponsor. As we know, the Bill has already been passed by the Senate and is now only awaiting the concurrence of the House of Representative,” Omo-Agege said.
The senator made a case for more girls to be part of the new technology culture, adding that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) should not be dominated by boys.
Commemorated on October 11 yearly, the International Day of the Girl-Child is a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the girl child while delibrating on issues affecting their development.
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