#DayOfTheGirl: Actress Omotola Jalade Recounts Her Struggles While Growing Up
Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The day aims to highlight gender inequalities and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.
To commemorate the day, Nollywood actress and mother, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde recounted her struggles while growing up as a young girl who lost her father at 12 and had to start helping her family at the age of 15.
She wrote;
”On today’s girl child day I’ll do an unusual post true to me. As a child I lost my father age 12. Sponsored by a great community of Ondo men, the #Ekimogun club, so I could continue my education.
At age 15, started struggling to help my widowed mother. I started working in the Entertainment Industry.
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While going to school, and working, faced many challenges as a female child… talks of being loose, perhaps being a prostitute, lack of freedom to mingle like male counterparts, rumours and fear of slander, sexual harassment… but one of my early dreams was to be great at whatever I chose and be side by side the best in the World.
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I’m Not totally there yet, … but.. That 12 years old Iyana Ipaja little girl did take care of her widowed mum till she died, took care of her younger brothers… they are in marriage stages now, taking care of herself and her own family, taking care of a few people she is privileged to be able to.
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She has worked, spoken on, been awarded on World stages , and has been compared to the people she admired when growing up, from other parts of the World… She’s still a work in progress but… Don’t You dare Underestimate the possibilities of a girl Child.
#Educationiskey#Educationbreedsconfidence#Ressilience#deligience#Girlchild#internationaldayofgirlchild#impossibleisNothing.”
Use the hashtag #DayOfTheGirl to unite yourself with others engaging in the conversation or visit DayOfTheGirl.org. You can organise and hold events for the day that will help raise awareness and support the empowerment of girls worldwide.
Photo credit: Instagram
Cool.
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