PLAN International, a humanitarian group, has called for the participation of more girls and women in the decision-making process of their country.
The Board Chairman of PLAN International, Mrs Gunvor Kronman, said this during the launch of the State of World Girls Report in Abuja yesterday.
Kronman said girls have the task of connecting and supporting themselves in their various fields to join the train in making decisions that would yield to their benefit.
She said the world needed more female political leaders to make decisions that would translate to the education, health and general progress of the girl-child.
He said: “The report is about women’s and girls’ participation in political decision-making. We need more female decision-makers at all levels.
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The Country Director of PLAN International, Nigeria, Charles Usie, said the report had been able to identify critical elements of a girl’s life and also checked the issues affecting the girl-child.
Usie said the report, which the organisation embarked on in the past 10 years, was able to look at girls’ access to politics, health care, education, water and sanitation and reproductive health rights and ways to improve in those areas.
He said the report showed that one in 10 girls think that females are not qualified to be political leaders and one in five has personally been discouraged from engaging with or participating in politics.
Usie called for reform to change the statistics to improve the living conditions of girls in Nigeria.
Some of the girls’ champions who spoke on the sideline of the launch called for equal participation of females to project their demands on a larger scale.
Angela Omale, from the Girls Get Equal, Abuja, said many girls in the country faced several challenges which hindered them from getting the right opportunity to thrive.
Omale said her group was however working to mobilise girls and young women to ensure they are equipped to play their part in contributing to the progress of the country.