The United Nations (UN) System in Namibia launched "Prosperous Paths" , a unique educational outreach programme targeting young girls in Namibia.

The objective of the program is to reach out to young girls at secondary school level and educate them on gender equality, women's empowerment as well as offer mentoring opportunities to enhance the status of the girl child in Namibia.

The launch of the program took place at Jacob Marengo Tutorial College Windhoek on Wednesday, where 600 young girls were addressed by the UN Resident Coordinator in Namibia, Kiki Gbeho.

She encouraged the young girls to "take space, be prepared and dare to be different." She called upon young girls to take their seat at the table, "now is the time to step it up".

"In Namibia, unfortunately, 33 percent of all married women aged 15- 49 have experienced physical, sexual, and/ or emotional violence from their spouse and have also suffered one or more physical injuries. A total of 28 percent of women and 22 percent of men aged 15-49 justified beating as an acceptable way for a husband to discipline his wife (NDHS: 2013). Although there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done, Namibia has made progress in gender equality and in eradicating GBV," she said.

The launch event of "Prosperous Paths" will be the first in a series of similar interactions, where the top executives of UN Agencies in Namibia will utilize the platform for public education.

Meanwhile, a social media campaign in support of this program will run for the duration of the program to highlight the messages and promote the lessons learned to other girls.

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2016)