A group, the High-Level Women Advocate (HILWA), in collaboration with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has begun training 200 female principals, head teachers and teachers in Katsina State on menstrual hygiene management.

Hajiya Mariya Abdullahi, the HILWA Chairperson, said during the opening of the three-day training on Sunday in Katsina that the selection of the topic ‘`Menstrual Hygiene” was necessary.

She explained that the topic was purposely selected because of its sensitivity and importance, especially to the girl child.

“We selected these principals and teachers for the training because the girls are directly under their watch.

“Therefore, it is very important to train them so that they can also teach the girl child.

“This menstrual hygiene is important for the girl child to learn right from their childhood.

“Most girls find themselves in this situation without being prepared for it.

“So, we are preparing them in the event they see anything like this happening to them; they should not take it as a surprise”, she said.

She said that though parents ought to teach their daughters about menstruation, if they however, failed to do so in their homes, the girls should be taught in school.

Mariya said that the group had the Girl’s Education Project (GEP-3) benefiting schools in the state to access the level of successes so far recorded.

Also speaking, the HILWA Secretary, Hajiya Wasila Sani-Saulawa, pointed out that the training was targeting all principals of girls' secondary schools in the state.

She added that the project was funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by UNICEF in collaboration with the Federal and state governments.

According to Sani-Saulawa, the training for the principals is also funded from the GEP-3 funding in Katsina state.

Sani-Saulawa said that 100 participants were drawn from the Katsina zone, while 50 each from Funtua and Daura zones would also benefit.

She explained that at the end of the training, the participants would not only step it down to their girl students but also their children, family members and their community members.

According to her, HILWA, since its inception, has been involved with girl child education in Katsina state because the state is among the states with a low number of girls in schools.