12-year-old women affairs minister canvasses for digital skill support for Nigerian girl-child

Nigerian one hour Minister of Women Affairs, Miss. Nana Basiru has charged the federal government to continue to provide support for the Nigerian woman without whom the digital revolution was incomplete in the country.

Bashir said, digital skills and the economy was skewed in favour of the boy against the girl child and sought a balance to make the girl-child have similar opportunities in life for national development.

Miss Nana Bashir, assumed the office of the Minister of Women Affairs, for one hour, in commemoration of the Girl- Child Day slated for today 11th October 2021, while Dorcas Joshua was minister of state for the same period of time.

Nana Bashir, a 12-year-old-girl from Kebbi State, said the girl-child is faced with many challenges, going through school and called for a change of the narrative to foster gender balance in the national outlook.

According to her: “Data shows that girls’ enrollment and transition continue to be jeopardized by series of factors Including gender-based violence.

“Even where enrolled, girls are less likely than boys to complete secondary education. Only one, out of six girls who graduate from primary school, are able to transit to secondary schools Bashir said

The Young minister wondered “I ask then… Where are the rest of the girls? We must find them. Where are they? What are they doing? Why are they not in school? What can we collectively and individually do to get them back to school?”

She noted the devasting impact of COVID-19 on girl-child education and said: “Over the past one year, we all experienced the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and Its effect on learning in Nigeria.

“Schools were faced to shut down for several months with learning having to be armed Waugh television, radio broadcasts, and on the online platform.

“Online learning came with series of challenges including access to data, poor digital skills for learners, teachers and parents and unavailability of the necessary equipment.

“Gender and social norms constitute major reason girls are not transiting and not accessing digital skills. There is a huge gender divide In access to digital literacy in favour of boys. The digital revolution can not be without Nigerian girls,” she pointed out.

She called on the federal government particularly the ministry of women affairs, which oversees the development of women to invest in knowing more about girls and young women’s digital realities. and supporting the learning solutions that are fit for their digital work.

Bashir called for support for the safe spaces for girls such as girls for girls: (G4G) groups for adolescent girls in schools as well as support mentoring and life skills for girls

The Nigerian 12-year minister for one hour said it would benefit the girl-child if the government work with community-based structures especially Traditional and Religious leaders in addressing social and gender norms that impede the transition to secondary education for girls.

She tasked the ministry to work in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education to Support the set-up of community accountability mechanisms for school safety against insecurity in schools.

The one hour Minister said it was important to use technology as a solution to address gender-based violence as technology is a solution to help address all forms of GBV.

She urged the ministry in collaboration with Support safe spaces for women and girls by providing key information links to critical services, skills-building, peer connection and support.

Together, we must address the issues of girl-child education, ending child marriage, female genital mutilation, sexual abuse and exploitation, child hawking, and removing children from the streets, she noted.

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12-year-old women affairs minister canvasses for digital skill support for Nigerian girl-child

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