Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
Officials of the Southwest Regional Delegation of Women Empowerment and the Family and members of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs have emphasised the need to educate the girl child.
This call was made in Buea, during activities to commemorate the second edition of the International Day of the Girl Child.
Speaking during the event that took place at the premises of the Regional Delegation of Women Empowerment and the Family, Buea, the Southwest Regional Delegate of the aforementioned ministry, Juditha Moffah, said, due to certain stereotypes, girls have been relegated to the backburner, and thus, have oriented themselves to lesser subjects in schools, while leaving the more challenging ones like the Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for the boys.
A family pic of participants, panellists and students from Buea municipality at the close of the workshop
According to Moffah, traditional practices such as forceful marriages, use of girls for payment of debt, early pregnancy, cohabitation, parental stereotypes and peer pressure, are some of the factors that hinder the progress of the girl’s education. “The government is aware of these difficulties, reason why there is the Ministries of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Social Affairs, Public Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, all striving to address the plight of the girl
Panellists at the workshop on the International Day of the Girl Child
child,” Moffah said.
The Regional Chief for General Administration and Finance in the Southwest Regional Delegation of Women Empowerment and the Family, Stella Eteki Dobgima, in a discourse titled, “Education Is A Key Way To Address The Rights Of The Girl Child”, brought out perplexing statistics on education of the girl child in Cameroon vis-à-vis the boys.
According to a national survey conducted in 2005, Eteki Dopgima brought out that the net enrolment rate into primary and secondary schools for girls was 64 percent as opposed to 74 percent for boys, net attendance ratio for girls in primary and secondary schools in the 2011 survey was 78 percent and 31 percent while that for boys was 80 percent and 34 percent respectively. Gender disparity in secondary schools was 47 percent and 50 percent in urban areas for boys and girls respectively. While in the rural areas it is 14 percent for girls and 17 percent for boys. However, Eteki Dobgima contended that by 2015 there are going to be more girls in schools than boys, while entreating teachers, especially those in primary and secondary schools to create a girl friendly environment. “The role of teachers in the girl child education is critical. Education is a tool to empower young girls. The girl child must be made visible. Girls and boys must be involved in the developmental process in order to fight poverty,” she added.
Media and Gender Consultant Mrs Eileen Akwo Manka Tabuwe and the Nkumu Fed Fed Delegate, (a body that promotes the rights of women and girls) Mrs Beatrice Titanji, all advocated for the creation of a girls’ club in primary, secondary and high schools across Cameroon.
Titanji recounted the importance of education to a girl, noting that educating a girl helps in the growth of the economy. She will add; “she can better train her kids, knows her rights and fights for them.”
According to the Southwest Governor’s representative at the occasion, Julius Tata, the plight of the girl child is important to the Government of Cameroon, hence, the latter cannot work alone, reason why she is working hand-in-glove with NGOs to seek a collegiate solutions to some of the problems raised.
Celebrated on the theme: Innovating For Girls Education, the two-day event was marked by an advocacy march past by NGOs, journalists, staff of the Delegation Of Women Empowerment and the family and over 80 girls from secondary schools within the municipality of Buea. There was also presentation of sketches to spice the celebration.
