By Sanni Onogu, Grace Obike, Abuja and AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

The United Nations (UN) has urged the Federal Government to ensure that girls stay in school after the COVID-19 era.

It said this can be done by ensuring that schools have menstrual hygiene products that enable girls stay in school, as opposed to dropping out.

Junior Programmes Analyst at UN Women, Angela Muruli, stated this in Abuja at the unveiling of female and more online platform by the Youngsters Development Initiative.

She said: “What we saw with the spike in gender-based violence and rate of girls who were dropping out of school because of the pandemic highlights how severe the gender inequality is.

“So, I think that what the female and more online platform recognises is that we need more innovative ways to ensure that girls are able to tend to their own mental and physical well-being but also have the opportunity to nurture their own skills and self-resilience, especially critical, if we are going to develop female leaders who are going to go on to be the post-COVID-19 leaders of Nigeria.

“It is critical for the government to make concerted efforts to make sure that girls actually stay in school, that they are in an enabling environment…”

Read Also: Umahi orders probe of Ebonyi couple’s killing

Also, the Acting Chairperson of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) and President’s wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, called for equal opportunities and greater protection of the girl-child from gender-based violence, and harmful practices.

Mrs. Buhari spoke on behalf of the body of wives of African Heads of States and Governments in a goodwill to mark the International Day of the Girl-Child, 2020, with the theme: My Voice, Our Equal Future.

In a statement by the Special Assistant to the President on AFLM, Dr. Mairo Almakura, Mrs. Buhari also urged African leaders to equip every girl-child with quality education and new skills that would ultimately help them to be self-reliant as a woman.

“On this occasion of the International Day of the Girl-Child, I, on behalf of my sisters, the rest of the African First Ladies, felicitate with our girls on their special day and salute their resilience in the midst of daunting challenges.

“That the African society is culturally tilted against the girl-child is not in doubt. The onus is, therefore, on us as regional bodies, international development funders and partners, national governments and subnational governments, corporate bodies, civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and indeed as parents, guardians and individuals to scale up attention and resources towards supporting them to enjoy life and actualise their potentials.

“We must heed and indeed amplify their yearnings for equal opportunity and protection from gender-based violence as well as harmful practices, such as child marriage, female genital mutilation that lower their self-esteem, deem their future, and cause them physical harms and needless deaths.”

The Center for Media Advocacy for Mother and Child (CAMAC) also urged all stakeholders to end all forms of discrimination against girls in Nigeria.

CAMAC Executive Director Alex Uangbaoje, in a statement on the occasion, said treating the girls like second-class persons in the society is no longer acceptable.

The activist noted that the time had come for girls’ voices to be heard.

“The time has come for us all to work together to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls, eliminate negative cultural attitudes and practices against girls; promote and protect the rights of girls and increase awareness of their needs and potential.

“Eliminate discrimination against girls in education, skills development and training. Eliminate discrimination against girls in health and nutrition.

“Eliminate the economic exploitation of child labour and protect young girls at work. Eradicate violence against girls.

“Promote girls’ awareness of and participation in social, economic and political life. Strengthen the role of the family in improving the status of girls,” he said.