The Minister of Gender ,Labor and Social Development, Betty Amongi has cautioned teenage girls to shun boys and other grown-up people who lure them into sexual intercourse before they complete University education, and are adults to choose their lifetime partners. Minister Amongi made the remarks during celebrations to mark the International Day for the Girl Child, at the National level, at the Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC) in Kampala on Thursday.
Giving her own example of growing up from a humble background, Minister Amongi told the girls that education is the only key to success.
“You should seek the advice of your teachers, guardians, and parents when it comes to choosing the kind of academic profession you aspire to pursue because this will determine the kind of person you will be during your adulthood,”she advised the girls.
Minister Amongi said the government has put in place a favorable environment for girls to go to school through growing the economy, by enabling their parents and guardians to engage in income-generating activities such as Parish Development Model Programmes (PDM) initiatives.
She in addition said the Government has provided infrastructure; such as roads, electricity, and schools in rural areas, where the majority of children of the poor are enabled to attend school.
“We should think of our poor village people who can’t afford to take their children in private schools reserved for the rich class of people,”she added, saying the 1.5 marks awarded to girls for entry into University is one of Government’s initiative to promote the girl child.
Kevin Colgan, the Ireland Ambassador, reiterated the need for the Government and other stakeholders to ensure girl children’s Rights to education are not violated. He named early child pregnancy, female genital mutilation and denial of girls to education as being major hindrances to the development of the girl child.
“Ireland in partnership with the European Union is committed to double support to fight violence against the girl children in Uganda, where we have so far injected over 100 Billion Uganda Shillings for this program. We need affirmative action to keep girls in School,”he said.
Laura Griado, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Gender and Youth Programme Coordinator, said there is a need for stakeholders to listen to girls’ needs. She advocated for sex education for girls to avoid early pregnancies and the dangers of contracting HIV/AIDS.
“Today we need to galvanize the issue of girls to provide them with enabling circumstances to go to school. Girls should be free from all forms of discrimination,”she said.
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