Girls Summit Climaxes with a Powerful Call to Action

The 2024 West Africa Adolescent Girls Summit (AGS), a trailblazing event that places adolescent girls at the forefront of discussions surrounding their rights and empowerment, reached a powerful crescendo with a resounding call to action that resonated with delegates and attendees alike.

The call, crafted by representatives of over 200 delegates, urged West African governments, parents, communities, international partners, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to take concrete steps to ensure the safety and well-being of adolescent girls in the region.

Key points of the call included the urgent need for governments to implement laws banning harmful traditional practices like female genital cutting (FGC) and child marriage, as well as the introduction of comprehensive sex education in schools. 

“One of the first and most important policies that we want to be implemented is for female genital cutting (FGC) to be banned in all the different countries in West Africa by law,” Sadia Sauchie, who read the governments’ component of the call to action, said. “This would help to protect the sanity and safety of adolescent girls and women, and this should also include the banning of child marriage.”

Delegates also emphasized the importance of involving adolescents in policymaking processes and addressing economic and social barriers facing girls, such as gender-based violence and child marriage.

“This means we want girls to be given opportunities to important spaces within the government,” she said. “We also want economic and social barriers that girls face, such as child marriage and gender-based violence, to be addressed by our governments.”

To CSOs, the call highlighted the importance of direct collaboration with young girls, especially in rural areas, and the need to address discriminatory social and cultural norms.

“We also want CSOs to focus on rural settings when implementing programs for girls and young women so that they too are not left behind. Also, work to address social and cultural norms that discriminate against girls,” another delegate said.

Community leaders and parents were urged to respect adolescents' opinions and rights, establish gender-friendly bylaws, and ensure access to quality education, health services, and economic opportunities for girls.

“We also suggest that community leaders and parents should set up gender-friendly bylaws that will respect adolescents' rights and also ensure that girls have access to quality education, health services, and economic opportunities,” Favour Unoh, from Nigeria, said.

She called for partnership among community leaders, governments, and CSOs to ensure

adolescent girls remain safe and protected from all forms of violence, “and include all people with disability to partake in community activities for them to feel the sense of belonging in society.”

The delegates also called on international organizations to create platforms for adolescents' smooth transition to youth and protect their rights.

“We want you to play a vital role in protecting the rights of children and adolescents,” Joy Anya, Ghana, said.

Moreover, the delegates stressed the significance of fostering positive relationships between girls and boys, promoting gender equality, and empowering girls to participate in governance.

“Girls should be given space to take part in governance,” Francis Manuel Ansah, Sierra

Leone said. “They have proven to be better leaders.”

Ansah also noted that girls should give boys space to talk to them. “Most times, we just want to have constructive dialogues with you. It is not always about intimate relationships,” he noted. “We want you to change your perception about boys. And for us boys, we should give support to girls. We also need to change the mindset about girls that we are superior to them.

“I’m a feminist. So I do support girls in terms of advocacy. So other boys, you also take that perspective as well,” he added.

With the call to action formalized and set to be presented to governments and stakeholders, the AGS underscored its commitment to empowering adolescent girls and advocating for gender justice to create a more inclusive future. The summit, held under the theme "Connecting Girls, Breaking Barriers, Creating Change," provided a platform for adolescent girls and boys to engage in skills training, team building, and advocacy activities, fostering a generation of change-makers poised to shape the future.

“The summit is more than just an event; it's a catalyst for positive change,” organizers said. “We firmly believe that every girl, regardless of her background, deserves an equal chance to succeed and be heard.”

“Through this summit, we aim to empower adolescent girls with the tools they need to take control of their lives and achieve their full potential,” one organizer told the Daily Observer. “Our goal here is to provide the girls with the requisite knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to make it in the larger society. These will enable them to become architects of their destiny. By nurturing their leadership abilities, we are cultivating a generation of change-makers who will shape the future.”

Former Vice President, Jewel Howard-Taylor, served as the keynote speaker of the summit during the opening ceremonies.