Let’s celebrate Day of the Girl Child

EDITOR — Zimbabweans, let us join hands with the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of the Girl Child.

Let us work together in protecting the girl child, considering that they have rights just like other humans.

There are still cases of early child marriages and these should come to an end as the girl child has a right to education.

Many victims of abuse are little girls and this leads to unwanted pregnancies, early child mar- riages and contraction of infectious diseases such as STIs and HIV/AIDS.

The United Nations started commemorating this day on October 11, 2012 aiming to prevent early child marriages.

This was because at the time globally records showed that more millions of women were married as children bellow the age of 18.

Last year 2015, the theme focused on adolescents and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) which set a range of international targets, including gender equality, to be achieved by 2030.

This year the day is commemorated on October 11, 2016 under the theme Girls progress = Goals progress: A global girl data movement.

Let us all commemorate this day in our various ways.

“Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children”, Dr Martin Luther King Jr said. Simbarashe Rusere, Harare Polytechnic.