Save the Children: Girls need safe access to digital platforms to realise full potentials

Save the Children International (SCI) says government and other stakeholders must work together to ensure women and girls have equal access to safe digital platforms.

In a statement issued on Wednesday to mark this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD), the organisation said there is gender inequality in terms of access to digital technology across the globe.

Citing a report by the UN Women, SCI said only 22 percent of women are workers in the artificial intelligence world globally.

This, it noted, “posits a huge gap between genders and affects gender equality in terms of access to digital technology”.

The organisation said the theme for this year’s edition — ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’ — is peculiar to the wave of women in the digital space.

“Save the Children International strongly supports the need for equity for men and women, boys and girls in our schools, homes, offices, businesses, innovations and political space. The opportunities available for women, particularly the girl child must be backed up with policies, strategies and structures that will ensure she excels,” the organisation said.

“Women need more freedom of expression digitally without fear of trolls, cyber violence, abuse or bullying, the women should be empowered to exercise their skills in technology and digitalisation with well-thought-out policies and laws that favor them, void of discrimination, biases and gender stereotype.”

Ramatu Umar-Bako, senior gender equality and inclusion adviser at SCI Nigeria, said: “We can only make progress in the conversation about equality when we embrace equitable concepts, take concrete steps to address diversity and ensure inclusive policies.”

On his part, Amanuel Mamo, SCI Nigeria’s director of advocacy, campaigns, communications and media, noted that more policies are required to ensure girls and boys are equally heard and valued in society.

“For us at Save the Children, equality means ensuring that all human beings – women, men, girls, and boys – are considered equal and are treated equally. We shall continue to pursue our dream of a world where all girls and boys are equally heard and valued,” he said.

“Women and girls must be able to engage, create, learn and work, safely and productively either online or offline, making the most of all the opportunities in every sphere of life and at every stage of it, in education, in the economy, in society and in politics.”