By PASSY HAACHIZO –
THE Zambia Information Communication and Technology Authority (ZICTA) has warned girls in schools against an upswing of abuse through cyber crimes.
ZICTA corporate and communications manager Ngabo Nankonde said in an interview at Kapiri-Mposhi National Technical Secondary School in Kapiri-Mposhi District on the sidelines of the commemoration of Girls in ICT day yesterday that it is sad that most young girls were being abused through the use of social media.
Ms Nankonde noted that the abuse of girls through social media such as facebook and Whatsapp had the potential to distract the girls focus in both academic and social life.
She cited the exchange of seductive messages and pictures as one way through which young girls were lured into illicit activities.
“Today we are commemorating the 2017 Girls in ICT Day, a UN resolution which was initiated in 2010 but implemented in Zambia in 2012 and is held on the last Thursday of every April.
“So it is very cardinal for girls to have information on cyber security and be aware of ICT in general which may help them  stay away from being abused emotionally,” Ms Nankonde said.
Ms Nankonde however, said ZICTA had taken advantage of the introduction of ICT in schools to raise awareness on the good usage of technology to enhance skills.
She said ZICTA had also formed over 100 ICT clubs across the Country where learners were acquired skills on the best ways of using ICT to benefit their lives.
Ms Nankonde said it was imperative that social media was used as a tool for transforming lives through genuine business transactions.
She also encouraged girls on social media to ensure that they safeguarded their passwords, saying the move is the only way to protect their personal information from cyber criminals.
ZICTA is also working with ASIKANA organization that deals with girls in ICT sensitization among other organizations to ensure that a lot of sensitization was made among girls.
“If you look at that day when the UN resolution was made in Mexico, Zambia was among the participants and we were only 20 girls but today we have so many girls that have taken the path of ICT,” she said.