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The Obong of Calabar, His Eminence, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu De V, Grand Patriarch of Efik kingdom and other high-level traditional leaders, as well as groups, have advocated for the empowerment of women and girls in all the 18 local government areas of Cross River State.
This call was made on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, during a town hall engagement organised by the Office of the Special Assistant to the Governor of Cross River State on Gender Mainstreaming, Mrs Utibe-Abasi Bassey Duke, and Palace of the Obong of Calabar, in collaboration with United Nations Women in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl-Child with the theme ‘Girls Vision for the Future.’
The monarch in his address, pledged commitments to supporting women’s participation in all elections, including the 2024 local government polls and beyond, as well as preventing gender-based violence.
He said, “What are our intentions for our girls? For me, a girl-child is beyond the kitchen and attaining the status of a housewife. I see our girls in board rooms, contesting elections, occupying the corridors of power, launching innovative, technologies and much more. All these are not merely on the faces of gender equality but meritoriously, based on capability and qualifications.
“I believe whatever a man is qualified to do, there is a woman who is also qualified to do the same job. So why not give our women more opportunities to serve? However, achieving this requires hard work, dedication, guidance, and other factors to help them achieve these visions. This is where all of us come in as stakeholders, right from the family and community, to ensure our girls are guided, protected, given access to opportunities and what they need and very importantly educated.
“For us as traditional rulers, we have more specific roles to play in the areas of representation, re-orientation, and guidance of our people. Indeed, just like we succeeded in putting a stop to the killing of twins, and other practices by our foreparents, we shall also succeed in the advocacy for our girl-child.
“I must commend you all for your note and effort in all these. I urge you not to be deterred, but forge ahead in carrying out your roles as we promise to play our part to achieve the desired goals.”
He pledged his kingdom’s commitment to ensuring protection, growth, and great opportunities for the girl child.
The UN Representative; Kenechukwu Asuku, said that the International Day of the Girl-Child is commemorated to encourage every girl-child to dream and bring those dreams to reality.
She called on the royal fathers, religious leaders and leaders of the judiciary, the executive and the legislative arms of government and security agencies, who are in positions of authority to support every girl-child to achieve their dreams and also fight gender-based violence.
She said, “We have women as medical doctors, pilots, software engineers, and different kinds of engineering, guru in mathematics, army leaders, police and other agencies. I am appealing to our leaders, to help every girl-child to achieve their dreams. We must all come together to ensure that every girl-child can dream and achieve the dream. Hence, you need to be educated and dedicated to achieve your dreams.”
Wife of the executive governor of Cross River State, Her Excellency Eyoanwan Bassey Edet Otu, represented by Dr Inyang Archibong, applauded the UN for the celebration of the International Day of the Girl-Child.
She expressed gratitude to the traditional rulers for playing a key role in the advocacy outreach and disclosed that education for every girl-child is paramount.
She said that about 8,000 girls have benefited from her STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – initiative across all secondary schools in the state, adding that education for a girl-child is education for the nation.
The Special Assistant to Governor Otu on Gender Mainstreaming, Mrs Duke, disclosed that the department is to ensure that every girl in Cross River State is not only protected but given the tools, skills and opportunity to thrive. We are working tirelessly to promote policies that address gender inequalities and give opportunities where girls and women can express themselves as well as gain access to the services they need.
She enthused, “The International Day of the Girl-Child reminds us of the limitless potential that we see in every girl-child. It causes us to envision a future regardless of their background, circumstances and power to reach their full potential where they can identify themselves.”
Bassey noted that her department has been at the forefront of gender issues to ensure that resources are allocated towards programmes that impact the lives of girls in Cross River State.
