Youth Desk hosts Women’s Day event to empower young girls

The Sandton Community Policing Forum’s Youth Desk hosted its first Women’s Day event to empower young girls.

The theme for the event, hosted at Wendywood High School, was the ‘Future is Female’ and emphasised the potential of young girls. Lemohang Mosoeunyane, the secretary of the Youth Desk said, “I mainly wanted to focus the discussion around what young girls can do to better plan for their future, how to better know their rights and responsibilities and give them the inspiration to be the best they can be.”

The Youth Desk arranged for a variety of speakers including the commissioner for Human Rights Commission Angie Makwetla, Warrant Officer Cynthia Segoa from the Sandton Police Station and the founder of Qrate Candice Chirwa among others.

The speakers discussed a range of topics including human rights and how to recognise when they have been violated, what young girls can do to stay safe and sex and menstrual education. Mosoeunyane said that they tried to make the discussions as interactive as possible so that the girls could share their concerns and ask questions.

Mosoeunyane said that although they had approached high schools to encourage young girls to attend, there weren’t many in attendance. “We would like to encourage principles, teachers, learners and parents alike, to work with the Youth Desk as our success is greatly dependent on that cooperation.”

Despite low attendance from high school learners, Mosoeunyane said that it was still a fruitful event for the older women in attendance. In the future, the Youth Desk hopes to continue hosting events that are both fun and informative for the youth. “We believe incorporating fun and awareness is the best way to effectively attract the youth to a space where they can learn outside of a classroom,” she said.

“I believe the Youth Desk is an extremely important body in which all youth should be involved in, even if you aren’t in the exec [executive committee] or have a specific position…It is a safe space where the youth with a little more support can offer a helping hand or guidance for those who don’t have the same support system.”

She added that although those who join the Youth Desk may come from different social and economic backgrounds, they all face peer pressure, school stress among other challenges.

“I’m so grateful for the last few months that I’ve been secretary of the Youth Desk, and I have learnt so much about myself and our youth as a whole, I would like to encourage all other young people regardless of your background to be a part of this family and help our youth become the best we can,” she concluded.

Share your thoughts on the Sandton Chronicle Facebook page

Related Articles:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/227291/sandton-police-to-celebrate-young-people-at-youth-day-summit/