Eagle Builders Foundation

    I H R H L                                                                                                                                                      INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW                                            ...

Khadija Gbla grew up caught between two definitions of what it means to be an “empowered woman.” While her Sierra Leonean mother thought that circumsizing her — and thus stifling her sexual urges — was the ultimate form of empowerment, her culture as a teenager in Australia told her that she deserved pleasure and that what happened to her was called “female genital mutilation.” In a candid and funny talk, she shares what it was like to make her way in a “clitoris-centric society,” and how she works to make sure other women don’t have to figure this out. (Warning: This talk contains hard-to-hear details.)  Khadija Gbla was born in Sierra Leone, spent her youth in Gambia, and as a teenager put down roots in Australia. She uses her cross-cultural heritage to promote understanding in both directions. Why you should listen Khadija Gbla was just 3-years-old when the war broke out in her country, Sierra Leone. While her family initially escaped to Gambia, 10 yea...

URGENT: In the next few hours we have a chance to set the next 15 years of global education policy: it's the last day of the ‪#‎ WorldEducationForum‬ in South Korea. Tweet Your Support for 12 years for all → http://ctt.ec/8aD8q (Remember to fill in why you believe secondary education is important). Right now 160 countries are debating if 12 years of free, quality education should be a right for every child. Will you tweet a message about why that matters to YOU & girls everywh ere? http://ctt.ec/8aD8q The negotiators are checking their phones, and the conference's hashtag - #worldeducationforum - between every session. If they see our messages, they will know the world demands it and are watching. Let's show how Girls + 12 years of publicly funded education = Empowerment When you add ‪#‎ 12years‬ of education to a girl's life, she can truly achieve her dreams. This is Amina, Malala's friend from Northern Nigeria. Even though s...

By Joy Tiku Enighe Nigeria has being facing insecurity challenges lately, one of which is insurgency. Boko Haram has being leashing terror on children and school premises - abducting schoolgirls, using young and innocent children as suicide bombers and child soldiers. It is indeed a very traumatic and heartbreaking situation. It was revealed recently that some parents in the north-eastern region of Nigeria had sold their young daughters to Boko Haram as potential suicide bombers, at the cost of #150,000 naira only. This has kept me thinking on how poverty and ignorance can lead people to get involved in an inhumane act. One of the girls sacrificed by her dad for money and wired with an explosive vest and detonator reported to security. Her dad had spread a mat in preparation for funeral prayers for his daughter when he was arrested. Interrogations led to further revelations of parents who were about to receive payments for supplying their daughters as s...

Girl-child education has become a matter of concern to stakeholders in Nigeria. This study examines the concept of and crucial issues in girl-child education. It identifies socio-cultural patterns, religious misconceptions, poverty, teenage pregnancy and early marriage amongst others as factors militating against the girl-child education. The paper advocates that public and school libraries must begin to play relevant roles and contribute to the eradication of discrimination against women. It outlines the roles public and school libraries must play in order to improve girl-child enrollment in school as well as reduce school drop-out. In order to effectively play their roles, the study suggests that libraries should source for funds from external agencies rather than depend only on their parent institutions/organizations. Key words: Girl-child; Education; School libraries; Public libraries; Nigeria.    In the traditional Nigerian society, there exists the deg...

By Wubon Hebrews Isaac Like their male counterparts, they have the right to education and skill acquisition, the right to career choice and self actualisation. Girl-child education becomes pertinent for the attainment of national development. In the past, education has not necessarily been a priority for the girl-child because of cultural beliefs, poverty and so on. It is believed that the place of the girl-child is in her husband’s house. The male child was considered to be superior to the gild-child in many aspects especially education and that is why in most cases; only the male child had access to education. Unfortunately, many people still hold unto this disparity between the female and the male gender. Other causes for the negligence of the girl-child education could be attributed to parent’s unwillingness to send the girl-child to school. Some parents feel it is a waste to educate the girl-child because she would one day be married to someone else. Eve...

Ambassador Entwistle takes a group photo with the 2015 Mandela Washington Fellows from northern Nigeria. (Photo by Idika Onyukwu/U.S. Embassy) The U.S. embassy in Nigeria has selected 40 Nigerians to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme for Young African Leaders in 20 top U.S. universities, for a period of six weeks. Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador James Entwistle, congratulated the beneficiaries on their selection. Mr. Entwistle explained that the 40 Nigerian fellows were selected amongst 7,000 Nigerian applicants and tens of thousands of others throughout Africa. “I congratulate the newly selected 2015 Mandela Washington fellows. As you may know, you competed with more than 7,000 applicants from Nigeria alone. You all should be proud of your accomplishment. Your selection says a lot about who you are as young leaders, and the level of impact you are having on your communities as entre...