At a pre-event media briefing Thursday in Abuja, the Director General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Lady Onyeka Onwenu, said the two-day summit would underline several efforts by government in removing all barriers that limit the growth and development of women and in particular girl child education in the country.
Being held under the auspices of the First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan,the NCWD and Friends Africa, a non-governmental organisation, the summit will discuss the strategic importance of the girl-child to the development of the society and the nation and will engage key stakeholders in girl child education in Nigeria.
The summit also aims to come up with effective strategies and a programme of action to curb situations that threaten the ultimate success and well-being of the girl child.
Lady Onwenu who listed certain identified challenges to include terrorism, kidnapping, trafficking, gender inequality, discrimination, gender-based violence and outdated cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, and early child marriages, maintained that these had to be tackled if the girl child is to prosper in the country.
Expected at the conference are participants from all over the country and international institutions such as UNICEF and UNFPA.
The two-day gathering will focus on Education, Health, Economic Empowerment, Security and Gender-based Violence amongst others.
About the Author
