- Eddy Balina
Empowering the Girl Child in Uganda.
In all our programming we ensure gender parity and mainstreaming. We believe that girls and boys deserve equal treatment and opportunities. We are aware of the various challenges girls face specifically in Uganda.
In our recent safety and violence survey 82% of the interviewed students stated that they had experienced some form of violence. 44% girls had experienced sexual violence in form of inappropriate touching, sexual propositions or comments, name calling, sexual assault/rape. The girl child in most cases is vulnerable to violence because of the common assumption that she is of a weak gender.
Many parents in Uganda still have the feeling that investing in a girl child education is not worth the while as they will end up dropping out of school for marriage, some still consider the girl child as a source of wealth through bride price, other challenges affecting the girl child include lack of separate facilities in school as they are going through menstrual period, menstrual stigma and exposure to disease and teenage pregnancies.
According to Uganda 2016 demographic and Health survey, 25% of girls age 15 to 18 have a child or are pregnant.
Through our School for Peace and Community awareness projects we continue to empower the girl child with life skills and opportunities for leadership, we also continually sensitize the parents and community member about gender equality and human rights.