By: Fatou Krubally
UNICEF Gambia has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting girl-led initiatives in the country, emphasizing the growing role of Gambian girls as leaders and change-makers.
Delivering the statement for the 2025 International Day of the Girl, Ms. Nafisa Binte Shafique, UNICEF Gambia’s Country Representative, said this year’s theme, “The Girl I Am, The Change I Lead: girls on the frontlines of crisis,” reflects the reality that girls are not only facing challenges but are actively shaping solutions.
In The Gambia, girls now outnumber boys in education and are performing at higher academic levels. More than 60 percent of Children’s National Assembly members are girls, demonstrating their influence in decisions that directly affect their lives and futures.
Despite these gains, adolescent girls continue to confront serious barriers. UNICEF consultations highlighted ongoing challenges such as child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), teenage pregnancy, child labour, and gender-based violence. Girls also described difficulties accessing schools due to long distances and the absence of science laboratories, as well as inadequate health facilities. They voiced concerns over climate change and its impact on their communities and futures.
Shafique noted that girls are taking proactive action to address these challenges. They are advocating for the end of harmful practices, working to keep children in school, pushing for improved health and skills facilities, building climate-resilient communities, and demanding representation in decision-making from households to local councils.
The statement also referenced a regional gathering in Dakar, Senegal, where hundreds of adolescent girls from West and Central Africa, including Gambians, participated in intergenerational dialogues on climate justice, protection from violence, and creating opportunities for girls to thrive.
“Girls are not waiting to be saved. They are leading,” Shafique said. She called on governments, civil society, teachers, parents, and boys to support girl-led spaces, invest in health, education, safety, and mental well-being, and permanently institutionalize children’s participation in governance.
UNICEF reaffirmed its commitment to championing girls’ rights in The Gambia, underlining the central role of young female leaders in shaping a sustainable and inclusive future.
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By: Fatou Krubally UNICEF Gambia has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting girl-led initiatives in the country, emphasizing the growing role…
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