Improving Adolescent Girls Access to SRHR

A component of Girls’ Power Initiative’s (GPI) work is to raise awareness in the community about issues relating to gender, so doing something special on days like International Women’s Day is important. A total of 177 persons (168 females and 9 males), including GPI Centre girls (151), GPI staff members (18), and five representatives from a partnership with Development Options Nigeria participated in a solidarity walk to mark this day on March 8, 2016.

The theme for International Women’s Day this year was related to the gender equality component of the new sustainable development goals – “Pledge for Parity”. GPI used the theme Gender Equality: A Necessity for Nation Building. The placards participants displayed to motorist and pedestrians included “women are part of wealth creation”, “educate a woman, educate a nation”, “women’s rights are human rights”, “no woman, no nation, Naija (Nigeria) needs women”, “equal opportunities for all”, “we need equality, development and peace”, “I want to be a part of nation building”, “stop discrimination, we are equal” among many others.

High points of the event included a talk by the Coordinator of GPI Calabar center, Comfort Ikpeme, before the march started on the importance of International Women’s Day celebration and the rationale behind GPI’s decision to mark it with a “walk her shoe”. She also noted that the day was set aside to celebrate our mothers, sisters, aunts and women in general, recognizing their achievements – from the political to the social – while calling for gender equality. She spoke about the origin of March 8^th, and why it is globally, regionally and nationally marked. The walk also created the opportunity to remind and mobilize public support for GPI activities and increase awareness of the organization.

The walk started off from GPI National Headquarter at Ayamurua residential area of Atimbo through Atimbo Road, IBB Way to Etta Agbo Junction, all the way to the University of Calabar’s main gate and down to the Botanical Garden on Mary Slessor Avenue where it ended.

Speaking to the girls, Ukeme Ekong, the Project Officer for Development Options, noted that with the new era of sustainable development goals, everyone should pledge for parity to bridge the gap between men and women in the society. She also noted that a major catalyst in the development chain were women and young girls, when they are educated and exposed to accurate information on issues relating to their sexuality and reproductive rights.