Health
MISS May Ikokwu, Chief Executive Officer, Save Our Heritage Initiative (SOHI), on Monday urged parents to shun preference for male children over females.
Ikokwu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
She called on parents to ensure that both the boy and the girl child were given equal opportunities in all areas of life such health and education.
She blamed the low numeracy of girls and women especially in rural areas on the parents’ preference for male children.
“Most girls and women are not encouraged to go to school because of the preference for the boy child.
“In many homes the parents would instead give out the girl in marriage and use the money to enroll the boy into school,” she said.
Ikokwu said such practice was inimical to human development and poverty reduction.
“When parents prefer children of a particular sex usually sons, they might give favored treatment to those children in health care, nutrition, education opportunities or other areas.
“In most countries children receive approximately equal treatment regardless of their sex and the gender preferences in the society”, she said.
Ikokwu advised against discrimination against girls, saying it might result to increased risk of infant and child mortality.
She explained studies had shown that in high infant mortality countries, females often have higher mortality rate than males.
“This pattern, according to experts, is particularly pronounced in South Asia and Egypt.
“The precise reason for higher than normal mortality among young girls relative to boys in these countries is because of discrimination against girls, particularly in health care”, she said.
Ikokwu, who reiterated the imperatives of giving women and girls fair treatment, said men were given more attention in Nigeria’s social contracts than women.
She said that even in politics and job recruitment that women were relegated to the background in Nigeria.
The culture advocate called for full implementation of the National Gender Policy (NGP) which prescribed 35 per cent Affirmative Action in Nigeria’s civil and political representation.
-(NAN)
KN
Tags: May Ikokwu Save Our Heritage Initiative
