The Girls’ Voices Summit
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YouthHubAfrica with support from Ford Foundation held a 2-day Girls Voices Summit which brought together 42 young girls from across the 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria for a 2-day workshop which held on the 4th and 5th of November 2021, to interact and discuss the norms that limit them as girls.
The girls aged 15 to 19 developed a charter with a list of demands to address key issues. The asks/demands were channeled towards key stakeholders who are representatives of the Government, Civil Society Organizations, Parents, Guardians, and every Nigerian citizen.
In addressing these issues, the following demands were made:
- Girl Child Education
- Gender Equality and Leadership
- Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Access to Technology
In attendance were dignitaries and officials from the Civil Society Space- Crystal Ikanih- Musa- Malala Fund Regional Advocacy Manager for Africa, Comfort LampeteyUN Women Country Representative, Maria Machicado-UNICEF Gender and Development Manager amongst other key partners addressing social issues that affect women, girls, and vulnerable groups.
The UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria, Comfort Lamptey in her keynote address congratulated the girls on the charter, and encouraged them to use the summit as a platform to learn, network and get mentorship so as to better amplify their voices and speak up for the rights of other young girls.
She reiterated that the UNwomen will continually support the rights of girls and invest in intergenerational dialogue between young girls and leadership institutions for a better society.
While the representative from UNICEF, Maria Machicado (Gender and Development Manager) commended the efforts of the young girls for being aware of their rights and demanding for it early.
Highlights from the summit include the presentation of cash rewards to the girls who participated in the National Essay Competition on the topic ‘How Social Norms Affect My World as a Girl’. The aim was to get diverse essays of girls from across Nigeria, capturing their personal experiences. Out of over 152 received in the competition, the top 20 were selected.
Top three Winners of the Girls Voices essay
- Hadiza Uthman- 3rd position, Government Day Secondary School, Gaa-Akanbi, Ilorin
- Favour Unoh- 2nd Position.
- Sarat Mustapha- 1st Position, Heritage Global Academy Lagos
