NAWOJ wants more protection for girls

President of NAWOJ, Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole

The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has called on mothers in Nigeria to protect their girl children and not belabour them with too many chores.

The President of the Association Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole made the call in a statement which she issued to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.

The call of the NAWOJ boss is coming as the World Marks the International Day of the Girl Child.

Omowole said that parents are fond of assigning to the girl child the responsibility of the assistant mother of the house even when she is still much too young for such roles.

“It is common practice in Nigeria to view the girl child as the assistant mother of the house, thereby putting her in charge of many chores sometimes more than they can handle.

“It is unfair to the girl child that she has to work in the house for long hours while the boy child is  allowed to play and engage in other recreational activities.

“NAWOJ is worried by a new UN report showing that girls around the World spend as much as 160 million extra hours every day doing house chores and other unpaid work than boys.

“Girls between the ages of five and fourteen spend 40 per cent more time performing such chores.

“Two out of three girls cook and clean in the home, and almost half collect water or firewood.

“They also perform less visible domestic work like childcare or looking after the elderly.

“Some of the tasks such as gathering water or firewood put the girls in harm’s way and at the risk of sexual violence.

“As mothers, we have a major role to play to ensure that the girl is not overburdened while the boys are allowed to be unoccupied.

“This also has a negative effect on our boys who usually grow up very lazy and sometimes picking up certain negative traits,” she said.

She said that the unequal distribution of labour among children also perpetuates gender stereotypes and the double burden on women and girls across generations.”

“We must all work to stop it. Our children must be given equal opportunity and that must begin with fair distribution of chores in the home,” she said.

Source;nan