The Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF), an NGO, says it is important to equip the girl-child with basic martial skills for protection against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

According to it, life skills education and sport are also necessary to empower adolescent girls and equip them for the world.

Ms Tolulope Osoba, Programme Manager, YEF Nigeria, made the assertion during a stakeholders’ meeting tagged `GOAL Project Reaching New Heights’ on Monday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that YEF is a youth-focused not-for-profit organisation in Nigeria.

It has the mission for youths to live in a world of abundant resources; a world where the innate potential is harnessed for positive self-development.

YEF improves the quality of life of the youth through mobilisation, empowerment, and partnership programs, in the areas of education, secure livelihoods, health child protection, environmental management and sports for development.

The GOAL stakeholders’ meetings and engagement is important as  over two decades, YEF has continued to leverage robust relationships and partnerships with government ministries, teachers and other non-academic players to implement a series of interventions.

These interventions are aimed at improving the lives of adolescents and young persons.

Osoba said: “The alarming rate of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) constitute a major factor threatening the lives and socioeconomic status of the survivors who are mostly women.

“It becomes imperative to equip our girls with the necessary skills to be self-sufficient, especially skills in martial arts which are useful for self-defence in situations of abuse, violation and danger.

“Martial arts build and develop socialisation skills as well as overall confidence.

“So, GOAL, through the SGBV outreach programme, has afforded the participants the opportunity to share their personal experiences, ask questions and have the contacts to report cases of abuse.

“YEF recognises the enormous role of girl/women in the nation’s building and has extensively empowered over 500,000 women and young girls in Nigeria.

“Particularly in the area of leadership enhancement, sexual and reproductive health knowledge, financial literacy, vocational skills acquisition, soft loans and health issues.’’

According to her, SGBV sessions have been conducted in several communities of Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja FCT.

She, however, noted some challenges that affected the implementation of some of the programmes in 2021, while commending support received from some quarters.

“Government bureaucracy has continued to be one of the major challenges we face implementing Goal in 2021, at some quarters. YEF still wants to work with schools in Ajegunle, Lagos.

“However, we must sincerely appreciate government parastatals and ministries for their continued partnership and support.

“ We are also using this opportunity to solicit for more support, especially for program approval letters, needed to expand our reach so more lives can be imparted.

“Lack of adequate cooperation by some schools; this borders on the insufficient allocation of time for in-school project activities, lack of provision of classrooms for our sessions and so on.

“Also, lack of cooperation from some community leaders and gatekeepers,’’ Osoba said.

Also, Mrs Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, Executive Secretary, YEF, also stressed the importance of empowering girls.

“It is important that girls be empowered especially adolescent girls and one of the most effective ways is to use football and taekwondo to teach various life skills like negotiation, leadership and all that.

“And through GOAL, it has enabled us through a component that focuses on child protection and gender-based violence.

“People are talking about it, rape, defilement, SGBV; a lot is going on.

“We want the girls themselves to be agents of change for gender-based violence because they confide in themselves so when they learn about their friends or somebody else that is a survivor of abuse.

“Most times when they give us information, we’re able to track before the person for justice to take its course,’’ she said.

“We even support them to cases that they need to do in court so that at the end of the day, justice is done and then as much as possible.

“We also refer them for care, especially mental health care.

“So, these are some of the things we’re doing with the project to ensure that you know, we have miniatures of ourselves and the community doing as much good as possible,’’ Akin-Jimoh said. (NAN)