WINDHOEK, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's First Lady Monica Geingos said Friday that young girls should be taught about sexual rights early in life as part of efforts to empower them.
Speaking at the close of the three-day consultation conference on HIV prevention, sexual reproductive health and rights for adolescent girls and young women in Windhoek, Geingos said schools must have curriculum that covers sexual health.
The three-day conference was hosted by Namibia's health ministry together with the World Health Organization and the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
According to Geingos, the fact that schools do not teach girls about their sexual rights allows for sexual abuse especially in high schools.
She said teaching girls about their sexual rights could be part of the process of preventing sexual abuse at schools and later in life.
"They have to learn to be independent, because one day we will pass on and they will not be able to solve their problems," Geingos said.
Parents and teachers, she said, should be free to discuss sexual matters with children so that they can find out whether the girls have been abused.
