GIRLS OF TOMORROW
#Girlseducation, #genderequality, #ASK4GirlsClub, #GlobalGoals, #LeaveNoOneBehind
By Eunice Mesumbe
What would the world be like if all girls stood up for their rights? Acting by breaking down some traditional norms that force girls into early marriages, thereby ending gender inequality and violence. Listen! Girls have refused to be labeled as domestic workers. Investing in a girl's career path through education provides her with stability today and opportunities tomorrow. Girls from all over the world have different stories and
experiences that have had an impact on their lives, just like the girls in the AcesWorld communities. According to Katly Calvin, President and CEO of the UN Foundation, girls are one of the most powerful forces for change in the world. When their rights are recognized and their voices are heard, they can effect positive change in their families, communities, and the world.
Vivian Mbonteh, a lady from my village Nyasoso in Cameroon's Tombel Southwest region, married at the age of 18, had three children of her own, and adopted two girls. Despite the difficulties of her early marriage and having to raise five children, her husband's family discouraged her from continuing her education. Vivian, on the other hand, saw it as a challenge and began teaching elementary school children to generate income to begin high school. Sure, there were some difficult times along the way, but here she is now, a PhD holder in Child Psychology and Family Life, teaching at one of Cameroon's major universities, currently counseling couples and inspiring her girl children and women in her community to continue their education.
One of AcesWorld's main priorities is girl empowerment and motivation, as girls need to understand their full potential to achieve their dream goals as change makers for tomorrow. Following several ASK4Girls Club engagement workshops and meetings, the girls are more confident in speaking up. Their willingness to continue school and pursue their dreams, as well as Vivian's desire to further her education, demonstrates that they are taking charge of their lives without fear of being judged or deprived of anything. Empowering girls of tomorrow empowers her entire community. Development organizations have emphasized the girl child as a powerful and privileged agent of social change, as well as a solution to the global crisis and global poverty (Shain, 2013).
AcesWorld can empower girls by providing them with knowledge and skills that will allow them to make their own choices and take control of many aspects of their daily lives, including sexual and reproductive health, with the help of their parents and the community in which they live.
Setting up vocational training workshops that will empower girls to participate in economic activities will help them work towards a financially free and safe future, as studies have shown that economic initiatives have helped to lower the rates of adolescent pregnancy in low-income populations (Bandiera etal., 2012). As a result, future women, girls of tomorrow, are encouraged to take on the challenge of building one another to grow stronger together.
References
Bandiera, O.; Buehren, N.; Burgess, R.; Goldstein, M.; Gulesci, S.; Rasul, I.; Sulaiman, M. (2012). Empowering Adolescent Girls; World Bank: Washington, DC, USA, 2012. [Google Scholar]
Shain, Farzana (2013). 'The Girl Effect': Exploring Narratives of Gendered Impacts and Opportunities in Neoliberal Development. Sociological Research Online, 18(2), pp. 181-191.