We talked to Roseline Adewuyi about her work as a Girl Child advocate and what she did to mark the International Day Of The Girl Child.
Can you share some information about yourself?
I am Roseline Adebimpe Adewuyi. A social educator, a gender advocate, a French instructor, and a passionate blogger on girl child matters.
I have a B.A., First Class Honours, in French from Obafemi Awolowo University and an M.A. (Distinction) in French from the University of Ibadan.
I am also a 2016 YALI RLC alumnus, a ONE Champion 2017 participant, and a 2018 Dalai Lama Fellow. My area of specialization as a French Literature student has been Feminist Theory. This focus strengthens my academic knowledge in the field of advocacy.
From 2019 to 2020, I worked as a Translator and Interpreter with the African Union. I have been a public speaker in many platforms mentoring teenagers in gender capacity developments.
My gender equality advocacy has availed me privileged access to events, conferences, and work-based relationships with various groundbreakers and organizations in the USA, Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Algeria, among others.
Tell us about your work as a Girl Child advocate
I am dedicated to helping the girl child shatter glass ceilings that impede her growth, sever the hold of gender stereotypes that stifle her behavioral makeup, teach her to abandon societal constructs that are inimical to her personal growth, and re-orient her to break the chains of deeply entrenched indoctrinations.
My perpetual end goal is to imbue young girls with the gusto and learned acumen to discard society’s scripts while they consciously choose to adhere to the paths of their self-decided purposes.
To achieve this, I organize training, seminars, workshops and set up other educational yet thrilling events from time to time. My primary target audience is secondary school girls as they have a somewhat pristine mind, untarnished by societal dictates. I want them to grow out of the stifling spaces boxing them in, preventing them from spreading their wings and taking to the sky, where they can only soar to the ends of time.
Is it not a daunting task? Of course, it is. Is it not taxing? No doubt. However, in as much as, at least, one girl child benefits from an activity, at a time, I rest assured that the results will become so infectious in no time, that reaching to the ends of the world, to unchartered corners of this nation, will become a facile achievement. One girl at a time. That’s the goal. That’s the eternal drive.
I am also very particular about re-imaging women in our society. Every woman is a requisite and indispensable functional part of any society. A woman is not a cog in the big society’s machine. I mean, she holds equal importance to the growth of a society, just like a man does. If a man is seen as a fulcrum, then a woman is the exact same one, too—not a replica.
Every woman need not just understand this reality, she has to let it guide her actions. She has to let it dictate her contributive quotient. She has to let it push her out of the confines of her comfort zone. She has to let it put her in a pole position to achieve her individual and societally collective dreams.
I actively engage women on social media and via my constant blog posts. Also, I use Twitter as an effective communication tool to ignite meaningful conversations. I share insightful content regularly, and host tweet chats.
What is the International Day of the Girl Child all about, and why is it important?
The International Day of the Girl Child is a day set aside by the United Nations to turn people’s attention to girls’ challenges and girls’ needs. It focuses on the need to address the challenges that beset girls, and to promote girls’ empowerment and the enforcement of their human rights.
It is a pivotal occasion, because, on this day, we not only celebrate and amplify girls’ voices everywhere but also show the world how girls, like boys, are an essential and expedient part of our society.
What are you doing differently this year to mark the day, and why?
This year, in conjunction with an organization called Gertrude Initiative, we hosted a Tiktok contest for girls in secondary schools on stereotypes girls face in schools and solutions to eradicating those stereotypes.
We also organized an awareness event where we distributed branded exercise books to secondary school students. Notable features of this august occasion included inspirational talks, shared female experiences, questions and answers sessions on female identity, battling and defeating challenging stereotypes, and how they can live their best lives.
At the event, we unveiled our International Day of the Girl Child magazine for this year. It is a colorful and engaging magazine we put together to motivate girls. It comprises talks, poems, short stories, inspiring interviews centered on exceptional women. I am elated to reveal that there are some kid-centered features, too! After all, the ultimate goal is to release an all-encompassing message to the girl child, the age-grade no matter.
The magazine is themed after the United Nation’s 2021 theme for the International Day of the Girl Child— Step Outside the Gender Box: Learning Free from Stereotypes. We gave them out to these students, (of course, boys and girls). The magazine serves as an augmentative add-on to the talks and interactive sessions we have with these amazing young minds. Also, it serves as a memento of inspiration they can consult any day, any time.
It comes as no surprise that I have saddled myself with the task of annually publishing a magazine to celebrate this beautiful date.
How can people be a part of it, or lend their voices?
To be a part of this advocacy, you can reach out to me on any of my social media handles, or you can send me a mail at adewuyiroseline@gmail.com
I am always open to collaborating with people in whatever capacity so long it will benefit a young, budding life. You can choose to sponsor future events or partner with me on a regular basis. Your gift will give more girls better-equipped wings to soar beyond previously-set limitations.
Are you a journalist, blogger, influencer, or fellow advocate? Please, feel free to reach out to me. It is not too much if we threw some light on the good work we are doing for our society. That will get us into the limelight—of course, we want to present a message, not hog the limelight.
I also love working with creatives. So, if you are an individual who wants to lend your voice to gender advocacy using your skills, I would be thrilled for us to pool resources as we quest to become permanent agents of continuous change.
Do you also work with the boy child?
I would be remiss if I did not add that I am as equally passionate about the holistic development of the boy child as I am about girl child advocacy. But since I can barely relate to their everyday experiences as I can to the girl children, I am not equipped to be a driving force for frontline boy child advocacy.
Regardless, I am not deterred. I dedicated a series on my blog to the growth of the boy child.
It is a platform for boy child advocates to share their works and storied experiences with the world. The series advocates engagements centered on the passion, challenges, motivations, visions, and dreams of the boy child.
It provides the boy child with insights into becoming a better version of himself, against all odds. It is titled ‘Men Picking up the Gauntlet’ on my blog – roselineadewuyi.com
And, of course, it gives me a first-hand, microscopic view into the world of the boy even as it helps me support boy child advocates who preach responsible fatherhood, empathetic leadership, and gender equality.
Some pictures from the event on the International Day Of The Girl Child
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