Teen fulfills role of gender advisor at Dutch embassy for a day

Teenagers have been empowered in a mock exercise to take over leadership positions in both government and business during celebration of the U.N International Day of the Girl.

By Awan Achiek

Teenagers have been empowered in exercise to take over leadership positions in both government and business during celebration of the U.N International Day of the Girl.

Adut William Aken,17, who hails from the Warrap State stepped into the shoes of Roselyn Gama,  the Netherlands Gender Policy Advisor on Thursday  with the aim of highlighting gender equality.

“I was very happy taking over as a gender advisor because it really inspired me, it really motivated me and I was very happy,” said Aken in Juba.

Aken noted that she is happy to utilize this opportunity to represent all girls and also being a voice for all of them in the country.

She thanked UNICEF and the other partners for granting her the opportunity to obtain information that will support many girls.

Aken said that she learned how to handle issues related to the menstrual cycle, and how to keep personal hygiene and many more.

The International Day of the Girl Child aims to raise more awareness of gender equality.

For her part, Roselyn Gama, Netherlands Gender Policy Advisor said she took Aken through the role of gender advisory.

“Today is a very important day in my life and I believe in the life of Adut William Aken as she takes on my role as an advisor,” said Gama.

She said that the girl’s takeover is very important in increasing girls’ access to leadership as well as inspiring them to amplify the voices of young people.

“We just finished a meeting with UNICEF, our key partner in the WASH program and I believe her contribution was very well taken in because she was able to bring out the issues that the young people face and most importantly she also emphasized on the importance of taking in the voices of the young people when designing programs and tools for monitoring those programs,” said Gama.

The girls takeover is part of Plan International South Sudan’s initiative to highlight the challenges facing girls so as to call for action for change that breaks barriers of discrimination.

Girls’ occupation of influential offices is expected to inspire confidence and demonstrate that they are able to lead in different spheres of society, including national positions.

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