By
Stephen Asante, GNA
Obuasi (Ash), Oct. 12, GNA – Residents of the
Obuasi Municipality have been advised to be responsive to issues relating to
development of the girl-child.
They should be actively involved in efforts at
ending child marriage, forced labour, gender inequality and female genital
mutilation, as well as beliefs and practices that tend to stifle their growth
and general development.
Ms Stella Owusu-Boatemaa, Vice-President of
Defence for Children International (DCI)-Ghana, a Civil Society Organization
(CSO), said improving the socio-economic life of the girl-child is a shared
responsibility.
She was addressing a ceremony to mark this
year’s International Day of the Girl-Child at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region,
held under the theme: “A Skilled Girl Force to Ensure Decent Job Employment”.
The Ghana Education Service (GES), Social
Support Foundation (SSF), ProLink and KWADA, all CSOs, were on hand to provide
technical support.
An estimated one in three women globally,
experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the
World Health Organization (WHO).
Ms Owusu-Boatemaa said girls who marry before
age 18 were likely to be denied higher education, adding that this also comes
with related complications such as premature childbearing and domestic
violence, all inimical to her physical well-being and socio-economic
development.
“Whether it is domestic abuse, rape or sexual
trafficking, gender-based violence denies many women the opportunity to live
happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives,” the Child Rights advocate said.
Ms Owusu-Boatemaa said the celebration, a
global event declared by the United Nations, largely focuses attention on the
need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and
the fulfilment of their human rights.
She said adolescent girls have the right to a
safe, educated and healthy life, not only during these critical formative
years, but also as they mature into womanhood.
Ms Hannah Amponsah, the Municipal Girl-Child
Coordinator for the GES, said girls are a source of energy, power and
creativity for any society.
They can drive change and help build a better
future for all if given the needed opportunity.
Mr Bright Ofosuhene, a Child Rights Activist
and Field Coordinator of DCI, said this year’s celebration of the International
Day of the Girl-Child focuses on the need for the global community to work to
empower girls before, during and after conflicts.
This is particularly important since every ten
minutes, somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies as a result of
violence, she said.
Ms Jennifer Addo of the Girls’ Advocacy
Alliance, a civil society organization, pleaded with the government to ensure
that the Domestic Violence Act 732 was enforced to the letter to reduce to the
barest minimum, sexual violence in all its forms in the Ghanaian society.
GNA