By Razak Baba
The Executive Director of Rights and Responsibilities Initiative of Ghana, Madam Aba Oppong has called on parents to give more attention, especially to their female children to enable them to overcome their challenges and be able to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.
Speaking at a Regional Level Forum to commemorate this year’s International Child Day in Kumasi, Madam Oppong called for the arrest and prosecution of irresponsible parents who allow their children to loiter about the street during school hours, a situation which undermines gains made by the government and Civil Society Organizations in addressing issues that impede the growth and development of children.
Razak Baba reports that World Children’s Day was first established in the 1950s as Universal Children’s Day and is celebrated every year to promote global awareness among children and improve their welfare.
November 20 is the date in 1959 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and since 1990, World Children’s Day has been marked on that date.
In commemorating the 2021 World Children’s Day in the Ashanti Region, the Defence for Children International Ghana, Rights and Responsibilities Initiatives Ghana and Erudite Women’s Empowerment Foundation jointly organized a Regional Level Forum in Kumasi with Girls-led Organizations, Girls Groups, State agencies in charge of the rights and welfare of girls and children, Civil Society organizations, Youth advocates, the Children’s Parliament and the media.
The forum aimed at creating a platform for children and young people especially Girls and Young Women to make their voices heard on issues that matter to their generation with specific focus on girls and young women’s participation in leadership and decision making at the local, regional and national levels.
Addressing the participants, the Programme Manager for Defence for Children International, Madam Joana Anokyewaa, called for greater investment to improve girls’ education, skills and job prospects in the country. She said investing in the girl-child is very important because of the challenges she faces in society.
”A huge gap still exists between the girl-child and the boy-child despite efforts made by successive governments to close the gap and ensure equality”.
The Executive Director of Rights and Responsibilities Initiative of Ghana, Aba Oppong called on parents to give more attention especially to their female children to enable them to overcome their challenges and be able to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.
She also called for the arrest and prosecution of irresponsible parents who allow their children to loiter about the street during school hours.
”This situation undermines gains made by the government and Civil Society Organizations in addressing issues that impede the growth and development of children”, she posited.
The Akwamuhenemaa of Juansa in the Asante Akyem North Municipality, Nana Owusua Achiaa spoke pationately against child marriages and maintained that the girl-child should be accorded similar opportunities as the boy-child.
The Ashanti Regional Programmes Manager of the National Youth Authority, Samuel Gariba expressed concern about the high rate of teenage pregnancy, saying the Authority is collaborating with key stakeholders to proffer solutions to issues affecting the youth particularly among the females.
An official at the Ashanti Regional Office of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice CHRAJ in charge of Public Education, Mrs. Divine Akosua Adade commended the event organizers for bringing all stakeholders to discuss, identify and find solutions to challenges hindering the growth and progress of particularly children.
She encouraged the students to study hard and pursue their academic dreams to become productive citizens.