Ekiti State First Lady, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, has inaugurated the Girls for Safer Space Fellowship, aimed at empowering female students in tertiary institutions across the state in leadership, advocacy, and mentorship.
Oyebanji said the initiative was designed to promote inclusive governance and create a supportive environment for women to thrive by fostering safe campuses free from gender-based violence.
Represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Advocacy, Dr Eunice Fasanmi, the governor’s wife spoke in Ado Ekiti on Friday during the launch of the GSSF, an event held to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child.
She said the fellowship would serve as “a platform for female students to lead positive change, strengthen their voices, and inspire others to become agents of transformation.”
“This fellowship empowers girls to be agents of change by providing platforms for their leadership and voices to be heard. Through the GSSF, we are investing in girls’ leadership and rights, providing opportunities, and building safer communities,” she added.
Oyebanji urged all stakeholders to continue supporting initiatives that promote gender equality and safety for girls.
She said, “Let us work together to amplify girls’ voices, expand their impact, and create lasting change. Let’s support their leadership and build a safer, more equitable world.”
The First Lady reaffirmed Ekiti State’s commitment to protecting girls’ rights and promoting their empowerment, citing existing laws such as the Child Rights Law (2006), which prohibits child abuse, trafficking, and rape; the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Law (2002), which criminalises female genital mutilation; and the Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law (2011), which protects women and girls from abuse.
She added that the state had also established the Task Force Committee on Child Rights Implementation to monitor cases of child abuse and prosecute offenders, noting that “these efforts demonstrate Ekiti State’s unwavering commitment to ensuring a safe and supportive environment for girls to thrive.”
In her remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Students’ Affairs, Modupe Adetiba, described the fellowship as a “community that equips female students with leadership and advocacy skills to tackle sexual harassment and gender-based violence on campuses.”
Adetiba said, “The GSSF is designed to strengthen ongoing efforts to address sexual harassment in tertiary institutions. It empowers students to drive advocacy themselves, rising against sexual harassment through knowledge, learning, and collective action.”
She added that the programme would help students understand the manifestations of sexual harassment and how to curb its prevalence, thereby enhancing safer learning environments and improving the quality of education for girls.
Adetiba also commended the Oyebanji administration for its sustained commitment to gender safety and inclusion in higher education, lauding the First Lady’s advocacy tours across campuses to engage management on institutional responses to sexual harassment.
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