Wife of the President, Oluremi Tinubu, has advocated the need for stakeholders to close gender gaps militating against the development of girls and women.
She made the call while addressing participants at 28th General Assembly of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD).
According to the Nigerian First Lady, closing the gender gap is not an act of charity but of justice.
She explained that without education, girls lack skills to support themselves and access information to make informed choices about their health and future, with school dropouts further fueling the cycle of poverty and gender inequality.
She described the theme for the 28th OAFLAD General Assembly, “Educate Her and Transform Africa: Enhancing Access to Health and Education for the 21st Century African Women and Girls” as apt as it addresses the very essence of the quest for a thriving and progressive continent.
The President’s wife noted that across the world, education and health form an inseparable foundation for societal progress by shaping knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
She said education empowers individuals and communities, which in turn has direct influence on health outcomes.
Oluremi Tinubu further noted that it is really disturbing that embedded social norms like early marriage and childbearing restrict girls’ life choices.
“Across Nigeria, other obstacles like sexual violence, family health crisis and poverty also force girls out of classrooms,” she said.
She informed the gathering that the Nigerian Government, through the Ministry of Education, is set to establish nationwide, the Alternative High School for Girls, an initiative she envisioned while she was the First Lady of Lagos State.
“Identifying this gap, in 2007, while serving as the First Lady of Lagos State, and realising that education is a lifelong process, I envisioned the “Alternative High School for Girls” in collaboration with the State’s Ministry of Education.
“The concept of alternative education for girls was birthed out of my desire to ensure that young girls who dropped out of school for reasons such as early pregnancies, economic hardship or marginalisation due to cultural bias or social barriers, had a second opportunity to go back to school to complete and advance their educational goals, acquire skills and empowered.”
