Lira district council has enacted an ordinance to promote girl child education. The ordinance has been forwarded to the solicitor general through the Gulu regional officer for scrutiny and approval before it is enforced by the district.
The ordinance seeks amongst other things to directly penalize parents who conceal defilement cases involving their daughters, those who force their daughters into marriage and stop young mothers from returning to school after delivery.
It is also seeks to hold parents, teachers and pupils accountable on the promotion of education, fighting early pregnancy and marriages. Under the ordinance any parent who commits any of the crimes, risk being imprisoned for six months or is liable to a fine of UGX40, 000. Martin Ocen Odyek, Lira district council speaker says the ordinance had already been debated three times in council.
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He says that once the ordinance is approved, Lira district beginning from the next financial year to provide separate changing rooms and sanitary facilities for the girl child in all public schools
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The ordinance has received overwhelming support from women in the district. Jenifer Opio, Lira district secretary for education says that the ordinance will ensure that girls are brought to walk side by side with their male counterparts. She encourages the girl children to take advantage of the ordinance and make sure that beat the boys in whatever they do at school.
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Munirah Sued, a radio journalist at Voice of Lango says that the ordinance will help enhance equal opportunity for the girl child. She says initially girl children were kept in the kitchen and only male children were allowed or taken to school.
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This is the first ordinance to be enacted by the Lira district council since the new council began in May 2011
