The country first Lady Dr Gertrude Mutharika has expressed concern over challenges that girls are still facing in the country.
Madam Mutharika who is also the president of Organisation on African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) expressed the concern when she met students at Ntcheu Secondary School.
In her speech, Dr Gertrude Mutharika who is also a patron of Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) said she is concerned with the increase in the number of girls being abused in different forms in the country.
“Girls continue to face various challenges in their day to day living and some of these challenges include forced and early marriages, rape, HIV and AIDS and these impact on them negatively as such they fail to grow and develop into their full potential,” said Dr Mutharika.
The First Lady then appealed for concerted efforts by all stakeholders such as non-governmental organizations, traditional and religious leaders, parents and guardians to ensure that girls and young women are protected from various forms of abuse.
She said most of the challenges which girls face in Malawi are also experienced by girls in many African countries and that girls besides other interventions should have high self-esteem and refrain from the influence of peer pressure.
“The vices of abusing girls’ rights are too many to cite. However the most and common outcome is that girls drop out of school, get pregnant and deliver with complications which in some cases lead to fistula development and even death,” she said.
Mutharika advised girls to persevere and work hard to perform well in class for them to have better future and become productive citizens of the country.
She assured the students that she would soon intensify interactions with disadvantaged girls to assess their needs in order to come up with better assistance and interventions with the goal of promoting girls to be educated.
“The Beautify Malawi initiative is supporting about 6000 students in different educational institutions, and I will continue with this to ensure that more girls are supported,” said the First Lady.
The interface meeting was spiced up by testimonies on early marriage and sexual abuse, presentations on role of girls in ending teenage pregnancies and child marriages and the role of traditional leaders in advocating for rights of girls and young.
Love of money these girls
Khope zakuba sizimadabwika
Some NGOs are paying school fees for the girls on some districts of Malawi such as Zomba, Mangochi and others….this is a recommendable effort…..
The challenges that girls face are enormous; high porverty levels, high school drop out rate, early marriages , forced marrieges, forced prostitution, child labour, child trafficking, drug abuse, peer early pregnancy, abortion, child pornography, orphanhood, hunger, being the head of the family, psychological abuse, and……the list goes on and on. It is worth noting that in Malawi there are so many intervention programs geared towards uplifting the plight of girls from the aforementioned challenges. In the same vein handrends of NGOs are operating in Malawi to *assist* girls. Government also sing the same song of *assisting* girls. It is a beautiful song. Millions of Dollars has been channelled towards this cause. First ladies that we have had (and the current one) have all joined the battle against the common enemies for our girls. WHO BENEFITS? Are making progress? This battle, severe as it is, requires concerted effort. It requires all stakeholders to join hands. It is a battle still far from being won. We still have a long way to go. iF WE CAN SPEND THE MONEY MEANT FOR THIS CAUSE, we are likely to register massive progress in this endevor……the fight continues
Nkanzi ndikulamulira dziko lamalawi sikuyamba ayi malawi ndi mbuli.
Madam, concerns are real & there are Street Children. Please kindly forward these to the Minister of Finance & Parliament for a lasting solution. TAXES TAXES TAXES TAXES………………………
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Sinanga azimuna anu akumaba ndalama nkumayika mmatumba mwawo inu nkumasekelera mmalo moti zithandizire akabuthu athuwa
Naonso akunamizira manyi ameneo akufuna kut ikhale njila yot atibele tindalama tomwe tazalira m’bomato et ? ayi ngati alibe pobela awone njila ina zakunyini ife ayi.
Nzodabwitsa kwambiri kuti M’Malawi angalembe za mtundu wotere. Chonde, tiyeni tidzilemekeze komanso tilemekeze kwathunthu anthu oposera msinkhu wathu. Ulamulo wa maiko ife timangotsatira nawo ndipo kumene maulamulirowa amachokerako, Anthu ake samasowa kapena kutaya chikhalidwe ndi ulemu wao m’mene ziliri ku Malawi wa lero.
So she want money to help them. Where is the money. It sound good to point out problems without solutions but need money.