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Valencia Ndhlovu and Clementine Phulu, Sunday News Reporters
SOS Hermann Gmeiner Primary School in Bulawayo last Tuesday celebrated the World International Day of the Girl Child meant to persuade communities to empower young girls and bring awareness of gender inequality they face based upon their gender.
The day was declared on 11 October 2012 and the celebration of the day reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women in development of policies, programming, campaigning and research.
The gender focal person for SOS, Precious Gumede, said, “this day, World International Day of the Girl Child is important to us as SOS since we are child activists. So we realise that there should be recognition for the girl child. We are trying to break the stereotype in societies where girls are looked down upon, where they are not given as much opportunities as boys.
“In the next coming years we wish to see girls as leaders, we want to see them doing those jobs which in the past were meant for men and we want all the girls to know that the sky is the only limit. As gender focal people we are gender sensitive, we wish to spread the message to all the schools in the country and make sure that the International Day for the Girl Child is celebrated every year, just like how the Day of an African child is celebrated.”
Programmes manager at Green Hut Trust, Nonkanyiso Gumede encouraged girls to take up space in leadership positions and to be involved in policy making.
“I wanted to convey the message that young girls can do anything that they put their minds to. I wanted to encourage girls to take up space in leadership positions in politics, in medicine, in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) because most of the time girls are discouraged as they are growing up.
“I want to see girls being more involved in policy making because we don’t have that right now especially in the country, we don’t have many women leaders, we don’t have many opportunities for girls to become Chief Executive Officers, parliamentarians and all that.
“To all girls around the world I’m saying to you be brave, be bold, do not be afraid and do it anyway, don’t let anyone discourage you, do not let anyone tell you that girls are not able, do not let anyone tell you that a girl’s place is not at the big table because it is, your time is now,” she said.
The African ambassador for Earth Uprising, a climate change organisation based in USA, Nozinhle Gumede said her message to all the girls around the world was that they are capable of doing great regardless of their backgrounds.
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