CS Amina wants more girls in school

British High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott (left) and Sports CS Amina Mohamed (right) celebrate Dr Stella Bosire (centre). [David Njaaga, Standard]

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has urged heads of state, ministers and parliamentarians to develop legislation and policies to accelerate girls' education.

Amina said governments should set political priorities, plans and strategies with girls and the youth in mind.

"Collectively, we can achieve this through cross-ministerial coordination, which is the collaboration of different ministries in the development of policies for girls’ education, cross parliamentary and cross-country coalitions, which involves the sharing and scaling up of effective practices across our regions," she said at the British High Commission in her capacity as Co-Chair of the Platform for Girls' Education programme.

“Empowering young people is the best investment for our future."

The calls come a few days before the International Women’s Day that will be celebrated on March 8. This year's theme is: I am Generation Equality: Realising Women's Rights.

Amina spoke at the event to celebrate Dr Stella Bosire, a doctor who was awarded the Commonwealth Point of Light Award, a special series of awards that are made by Her Majesty The Queen, the Head of the Commonwealth. Dr Bosire's work has supported over 20,000 women and girls living in poverty.

The awards recognise inspirational volunteers throughout the 53 Commonwealth countries for making a difference in their communities and beyond.

At the event, a  policy paper by The Platform for Girls Education was launched as part of the platform's 'Leave No Girl Behind' campaign that is calling for 12 years of quality education for all girls, especially the marginalised.

The year 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which established the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights.