Laraba MUREY
As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s Global Day of Parents, the Association of Wives of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Traditional Rulers, has called on government to provide support programs for caregivers and parents in Nigeria.
General Secretary of AWTR, Barr. Halima Mohammed, in a statement on Thursday, said the charge is in recognition of their importance in the positive development of children and protection from early or forced marriage.
“If we do not act now, the number of women married as children is set to soar to 1.2 billion by 2050.”
“As a network of traditional rulers’ wives fighting against forced marriage within our community; AWTR joined the Global Day of Parents to recognize and appreciate the contribution of our indigenous women in the fight to reduce the number of child marriages in our community and to ensure the well-being of our children.
“Thank you to all the parents who safeguard their children from the dangers of early marriage,” Mohammed said.
According to her “As mothers, we saw that gender has a significant impact on parenthood. As moms are sometimes not consented to before a girl’s childhood is taken away by early marriage. Child marriage in indigenous families is a family economic intervention as well as a challenge that parents face must overcome in order to live in a just society.
“Therefore, there is a need to increase the capacity of parents and indigenous women in rearing her female child.”
“FCT Traditional rulers advocated and facilitated the creation of a community code of standards to combat early child marriage as tool to help parent overcome the difficulty.
“The code of Standard will safeguard child safety and empower parents to speak up more for their children’s protection against early marriage. Recognizing both parents’ equal right to the child’s welfare.
“As parents in the FCT, we believe that Children do better when both parents can speak and consent. The code of Standard will offer clarity among stakeholders for uplifting the parent and child relationship. This will cement the relation in order to improve the parent-child connection. This will strengthen the bond between parent and child.
“Given the growing need to help indigenous parents in the FCT, AWTR takes this opportunity to firmly request for an improved support program for fct indigenous women. This type of support will play an important role in reducing child marriages in our communities.”
This 2023 theme for the celebration is: “Uplight, and support the role of parents in the rearing of children”
The United Nations declared June 1 to be observed as the Global Day of Parents. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness about the value of parenthood and to thank parents for their selfless devotion to their children and the lifelong sacrifice they make in developing this bond.