Young persons living with disability, particularly ladies, have been advised to steer clear of harmful and negative contents and make great decisions in the choices of their role models.
This advice was given at the book launch of “The Lost Souls” authored by two persons with disability, Abiose Falade and Oluwatomisin Olatayo, which was held at the American Corner, Ibadan on Saturday.
Speaking at the event, a mental health advocate, Gwendolyn Oshoniyi, also known as LadyGwen, noted that stereotype and discrimination are one of the negative things to protect young girls with disability from.
“When some of these young girls don’t match the level of the role models seen out there, it results in low self-esteem and depression as a result of wrong representation, wrong concepts and personalities. We need to go back to their foundation and what they are seeing if we must tackle mental health in young people,” Oshoniyi said.
One of the panellists, a social inclusion and protection expert, Toyin Balogun, while speaking on “The Importance of Positive Representation for Young Girls,” harped on the positive presentation of the girl-child, adding that the way a girl is presented also determines the way the public sees her.
Balogun said: “The way you portray her determines the way she sees herself and that is why you have to be careful in the way you portray young girls.
“When we talk about a young girl, we are talking about someone who is already facing two types of marginalisation. When a girl has a disability, it becomes three and that is why it is important to have a positive representation for girls to show that their dreams are valid too. When you are building a girl, know that you are building a nation.
“When we have a positive representation of girls with disabilities, we can challenge stereotypes. People believe a girl with a disability cannot be anything but when we give a positive representation, the girl knows that it’s possible.
“Also, positive role models are very key. Show them women with disabilities that are doing well and are role models like Abiose Falade and Tomisin Olatayo. Give them a voice too, support them, give way for them, let them also speak for themselves.”
The CEO of Yutex Global Concept Limited, Yusuf Olatunji, who spoke on “The Long-term Effects of the Lack of Positive Role Models for Young Girls with Disabilities”, explained that men may be influential over their children at an early stage, adding that women are more influential as time goes on.
He noted that there is a need for old women to be deliberate about bringing forward the right women that could serve as role models to girls.
He noted that this can be done by attending periodic programmes, encouraging young girls and ladies to write their stories and by writing.
Olatunji said: “We must be very careful with the type of music and dance our girls engage in because these things have a way of portraying them in a negative way and they are more than that. We need to be deliberate and intentional about the women we chose as role models for young girls out there.
Also speaking at the event, Executive Director, Mentoring Assistance for Youths and Entrepreneurs Initiative (MAYEIN), Dorathy Ossai, urged parents and guardians to model and nurture their children from their early days.
“Parenting is intentional for it to be effective. You don’t just invest in books for your children, education is not only in the classroom, it’s all around us. Be careful of the content your children are consuming. Take them to places where they see because children are visual projects. Children don’t do what you say, they do what you do. Put visual messages, repeat messages, what you hear constantly, you do,” Ossai said.
One of the authors, Falade thanked her parents for the support she got while growing up and towards the actualisation of the book which has been her dream since she was 10 years old.
“I looked for people of like minds who want to do great things and I met Tomisin. Tomi, like me, is very good at what she does. She was sceptical about the project at first, but I pushed her and I’m grateful she decided to do this with me. Now, we are sisters and I don’t think nothing can tear us apart,” Falade added.
On her part, the second author, Olatayo, said:
“When Abiose came with the offer, I was sceptical about it because I’m a lazy writer. It’s been an amazing journey with Abiose and I can say when you pick a copy of this book to read, you would not just be blessing yourself, you’ll be blessing generations after you because a whole lot of work has been put into this book showing that there is ability in disability.
“This book also shows that girls are better together when they stand together and support each other. I also appreciate my parents and siblings because they were an inspiration to me while writing,” Olatayo said.
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