Dr. Francisca Obiora-Ike
Coordinator
Africanization Initiative
The Girl Child
Advocacy.
Working with parents, schools, and security agents to articulate interventions that protect African girls — from infancy through to safe womanhood.
First and foremost, the girl child in Africa lacks information about what happens to her in puberty.
At home it is often a taboo to discuss; in schools the topic is treated as if it does not exist. Even when mothers were headmistresses, they would only place a small packet in their daughters' school boxes, leaving the daughter to discover its purpose the hard way — the moment she stood up to answer a question and noticed her uniform stuck to the seat.
Sexual abuse is similarly hidden. The perpetrators are often within the same household — an uncle, a brother, a friend of the family, a neighbor, even a father — and threats of violence keep the abuse unreported for years. Crude abortions, traditional procedures gone wrong, permanent scars, and suicide are too often the consequences. Parents are sometimes complicit in the silence, fearing stigma for the family.
It is mind-boggling what the African girl child goes through. The Institute's Girl Child Advocacy program exists because that silence has consequences — and the consequences fall on the girl.
The Team
Five voices behind the Advocacy
Dr. Anastasia Ashi, FIIAS
Deputy Coordinator
Barrister Ogechi Agbai
Legal Adviser
Barrister Chinenye Atuma
Counsel
Ms. Rita Boidou
Cote D'Ivoire Representative
Profile
Dr. Anastasia Ashi
Dr. Anastasia Ashi is Dean of Health Sciences at Emmanuel University and Chairperson of the African Scholars Health Organization, responsible for deploying Country Representatives across the federation. She also serves as Assistant Director (Inspectorate) at the National Youth Service Corps Headquarters in Abuja.
She conducted her doctoral research in areas associated with the girl child. The Advocacy recognizes that each country's needs are unique and often subject to its cultural antecedents — but the ONE AFRICA framework holds that the girl child across the continent shares a common condition. Dr. Ashi and her team tailor programs to the specific needs of girls in each country.
How We Work
Three fronts of intervention
The Advocacy creates synergy with NGOs working in these areas to articulate concrete interventions. It will not radically change everything immediately — but this is a good starting point.
A
With parents
The mother — at minimum — should gain the confidence of her daughter. Tell her when being touched in certain places is inappropriate. Assure her that she will be there in any circumstance. Explain how the female anatomy works and what happens at each stage. Make her not feel guilty when she encounters difficult circumstances.
B
With schools
School curriculum should start sex education early — girls today are reaching puberty as young as 9 or 10. Co-education environments should explicitly address sexual abuse, drug-facilitated assault, and the rights and resources available to victims.
C
With security agents
Security services should not shame the girl child when cases of sexual abuse are reported. Too often these cases are settled in the police station when parents lack capacity or will to pursue them. The Advocacy works to professionalize the response and ensure cases reach their proper conclusion.
Become a mentor.
If you live in or near a community where this work is needed — sign up with the IIAS Membership Directorate to become a mentor to a young rural woman. The capacity of the next generation of African girls to step into their own futures is, very directly, a capacity the Institute exists to enlarge.