African first ladies, meeting in Marrakech, 320 km south of Rabat, Sunday have committed to protect and defend the development and recognition of the girl-child's rights in Africa, Panafrican News Agency (PANA) reported.
At the end of their two-day summit the ladies adopted a Marrakech Declaration, which stressed on the need for continued sensitization of policymakers, authorities and all those involved in the development of girl-child.
According to the agency, the declaration called for the eradication of all forms of discrimination based on sex, and a general mobilization for the development and generalization of education and the fight against illiteracy, which primarily affects the girl-child.
The first ladies recommended the intensification of efforts to facilitate girls' access to quality education and called for a guarantee of equality in accessing health care, and the promotion of reproductive health that would result in better awareness of and protection against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, said PANA.
They also called for the intensification of efforts and acts undertaken at the legislative, social, educational, cultural and information levels with a view to eradicating sexual abuses and harmful traditional practices, particularly female genital mutilation, which they said undermined the physical and moral integrity of the girl-child.
The document recommended the promotion of human rights by encouraging the integration of this subject in both formal and non-formal education programs with a view to instituting a child's rights culture – Albawaba.com
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