International Day of the Girl Child: GGGA bemoans reports of rape cases in schools

The Ghana Girl Guides Association (GGGA) has expressed worry over the increasing rate of rape cases in the educational sector in the country.

In a message to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child, the Chief Commissioner of the GGGA, Zakya Abdul Wahab noted with regret recent reports in the media of male teachers who have taken advantage of young girls to sexually abuse them.

She said ‘such incidents are becoming far too rampant and the need has arisen for immediate action to be taken by the Ministry of Education to restore sanity in our schools’.

"Our young girls are not safe and all male and female voices should vehemently speak out against such abusive behaviors towards our innocent girls’. Our schools are supposed to teach these young girls to desist from the practice of such social vices but if the educators are becoming culprits then we need to rise up and speak, condemn and call for the culprits to be dealt with by the full rigors of the law," she lamented.

Commenting on the theme for this year’s celebration, “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force”, Mrs. Wahab also said the girl child is a big asset to the nation and every resources must be made available to build her capacity to enable her contribute her quota to nation building.

She noted that ‘as an Association, we have put in place a number of skills development programmes to train these young girls as a step to ensuring that they realized their fullest potential’.

The International Day for the Girl Child is observed October 11 of every year and it is aimed at highlighting and addressing the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

According global statistics, young girls and women are the major victims of several abuses including rape. Majority of such victims become traumatized while others are infected with diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Mrs. Wahab called on all stakeholders to support the campaign to end sexual violence which the GGGA is embarking on while providing opportunities to the girl child to hone her skills. She further called on the government to remove all policy obstacles that tend to exclude young girls in being active participant in decision making processes.