BY JOY OFASIA
“GIRLS need to be educated more on protecting themselves.”
Martha Horiwapu, from the Trauma and Council Program of the Life and Support Ministry made these statements during a workshop with women leaders held at the Catholic Church, Holy Cross in Honiara.
“The reason is because, there are many violence activity taking place at the moment that ends with very serious cases such as rape or even death,” Mrs Horiwapu explained.
She said that children require the care and protection of the community as well as their families.
“Children are our most precious resource and they are our future, as adult members of our societies, we have a moral duty to protect children,” She said.
Mrs Horiwapu continued that in many communities still there is discrimination against the education of a girl, which is very sad.
She clarified that all this discrimination towards a girl’s education leads to the unsafeness of her.
“But the point is that a girl must be educated first at home for her safety.”
“It is the parent’s role to educate our daughters on knowing what is good or bad and what to say yes and no to,” she explained.
“One of the good reasons for a girl to be taught well is because girls look for strong men in their lives and if their fathers are not willing to look after them, then they will absolutely find someone else to be taken care of.
“This is a dangerous world, it is time for us to help in start protecting our children from falling into traps of being lied to, raped, abused etc.,” Mrs Horiwapu explained.
Mrs Horiwapu passes the message that the life outside the family home is risky.
“Home is not a place to hide, but a place where children are given the right tools, trained and equipped,” she said.
Mrs Horiwapu encourages women to speak out girl’s education for parents in the communities to carry out their roles to teach their daughters when they are in there young age.
She said that education is an ongoing process and so it is the responsibility of a parent to make sure that their daughters have everything to be safe in this world.
