International Day for Girl Child: Stakeholders want reproductive health introduced into school curricula

‘This is a major problem, where the boy child is given preference in terms of education and other opportunities for self-development more than the girl child’

In commemoration of this year’s International Day for the Girl Child, young and adolescent girls have urged the government to introduce reproductive health in school curricula to encourage more girl education.

While speaking at a one-day dialogue session with young women and adolescent girls, organised by Plan International, in collaboration with Bauchi State Government, six-year-old Amina Dar said that girls are challenged by gender inequality.

She said: “First, we are challenged by gender inequality. This is a major problem, where the boy child is given preference in terms of education and other opportunities for self-development more than the girl child. In Bauchi State, recent statistics have shown that we have over 1 million out-of-school children, of which 60 per cent are girls, hawking on the streets.

“Second, as a girl child, I have the impediment of menstrual hygiene and reproductive health care, which is often neglected. Most girls do not have access to sanitary pads due to economic challenges. More importantly, most girls lack the knowledge of self-care during menstrual flows and reproductive health, because it is not taught in schools and parents lack awareness.”

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