NGO organises forum on "girl abuse" in Tamale

Tamale, May 11, GNA - Song -Taba, an NGO, which seeks the welfare of girls on Monday, organised a forum on violence against girls in Tamale in the Northern Region to help curb the abuse of female children in that area.

The forum, the first of its kind to be held in Tamale by the Song -Taba outfit for school children drawn from the Nanumba district and selected schools in Tamale, was sponsored by Action Aid Ghana with the collaboration of other stakeholders. Addressing the forum, the Programmes Coordinator of Song Taba, Mr. Enoch Cudjo said there was the need to enact laws to compliment existing ones, to help tackle seriously the issue of violence against girls and other related forms of child abuse. He said government and other key stakeholders in gender development must also play their respective roles well. Mr Cudjo highlighted on the programmes of his outfit and how it intends to carry out the project and challenged the media and gender advocates to join in the crusade "to save the girls from the ordeals they go through.

He advised parents not to give out their children to foster parents, since such children sometimes go through "hell" with some of them not being able to go to school. Mr Cudio said to curb these unfortunate situations, the media must be committed to carrying news on child abuse and other forms of the rights of children in the society. He blamed society for some negative practices and said it was about time "We discard such outmoded and outdated practices with its accompanying dangers". Madam Samata Mahama, Assistant Girl Education Officer of the Tamale Metro Education Unit advised the children to choose courses which they were good in and have the interest to pursue and not to succumb to pressures from their parents to choose careers of their (parents) choice.

Madam Samata lamented about the low enrolment of the female child in schools and said the situation does not auger well for their development. He said one of Ghana's illustrious sons, Kwegyir Aggrey, once said " If you educate a man you educate an individual but if you educate a woman you educate a whole nation", and urged parents to educate their girl children.