UN-Women to reward girl child supporters 

GENDER - In an effort to protect girls from all forms of violence against the girl child, ‘United Nations- Women' has come up to support Ugandans who have contributed to their success.

Individuals who support the girl-child in their communities will be awarded for supporting the girls with cash prizes to a tune of sh10m - 20m.  

The Public Health Specialist, UN-women, Elizabeth Mushabe, said the new development is aimed at encouraging Ugandans s to come up and support others who will turn out to be influential.

Mushabe said that in partnership with the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development, (MGLSD) and Girl's Flourish a local non-governmental organization, they intend to create a platform to celebrate the men and women who have helped women and made them influential.

"We want to celebrate communities, individuals and parents who have made girls turned women influential," Mushabe said.  

Girls are often more vulnerable than boys in communities because of their biological makeup but also some cultures are against girls.

According to the UN 2018 General Assembly, about 132 million girls are out of school globally. Equally, even for the few that make it to school, several challenges limit their ability to complete school.

Girls suffer discrimination both at home and at school, lack sanitary towels to use during their menstruation periods, end up in early marriages leading to early pregnancies especially in rural societies.

In Uganda, less than 20% of the girls enrolled in primary schools complete Primary Seven.

Child marriages and teenage pregnancies are closely related to high levels of school drop-outs.

The 2011 UDHS indicates that 15% of ever-married women aged 20 - 49yrs were married by the age of 15 while 49% were married by the age of 18.

The maiden awards will be launched this year to coincide with other activities to acknowledge the international day of the Girl-Child.

The director Girls Flourish, Catherine Opondo said her organisation has a Trans generation agenda which looks at yesterday's girl-child and today's women of influence and provide her with a link in developing a girl child.

The girls of 1962 are today's women of influence, contributed to their success and have provided support to help others who will become influential in future.

The initiative will comply with us to act and not sit back. "Voices of girls and women will vibrate all over the place," Opondo explained.

Lydia Namuli, the acting chairperson panel of Judges, said that it is worth to invest in the girl child for every woman of influence in the world there is some who invested in her

Hadijah Namuddu Senior Woman in development officer MoGLS Development said her ministry is ready to partner with the organizations.

She said, "Government has put up programs for women empowerment and stakeholders need to know where we are coming from and where we are going."