November 1997
Marymount Students Meet Nigeria's Girls' Power Initiative
By Sybil Maimin
In a program hosted by the Culture Awareness Club, upper level students at Marymount, a private school for girls in the Catholic tradition, heard Dr. Bene Madunagu speak about her work With the Girls' Power Initiative (GPI), an organization she co-founded in her native Nigeria to educate young women to become confident, self-reliant, and informed about issues of health, sex, and reproduction The first GPI class of nine members met in 1994; the organization currently serves over 500 participants in several locations.
A biologist and head of the botany 1 department at the University of Calabar, Dr. Madunagu became aware of feminist concerns while a university student and has since become a committed activist and grassroots advocate. She explained that empowerment of females is especially critical in a country where women are socialized to feel no self worth and to aspire only to be wives and mothers. In Nigeria, women are trained to be subservient to their fathers, husbands and brothers. Fifty-seven percent of females have no education, and their median age for marriage is 16.9 years. In weekly sessions over a period of three years, GPI teaches young women about their rights and the need to be assertive. It gives them tools to cope with sexism in society and within their own families. It encourages education and career goals. Because many of its ideas go against tradition, GPI also works with families to help them understand and support their daughters' I ) newfound aspirations. Programs for adolescent boys teach anti-sexism. Girls' Power Initiative has earned respect, Dr. Madunagu reported, and now receives requests from male school principals for the establishment of similar programs in their institutions. At GPI, communication is stressed and graduates have started their own groups, passing information and skills on to friends and siblings. Community programs are also organized. With the support of materials and grants from the International Women's Health Coalition, GPI has developed a curriculum, established a resource center of literature and teaching tools, and publishes a quarterly newsletter, Girls Power.Girls' Power Initiative believes in empowerment through education and information. Dr. Madunagu noted that by hosting her presentation, Marymount School was empowering its students with knowledge, helping to ensure they would be equipped to meet life is challenges. The students of the Cultural Awareness Club plan to correspond with members of GPI in Nigeria which will make for further enrichment.
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