OUR TIME IS NOW – OUR RIGHTS, OUR FUTURE: UN-DAUNTING MYTHS AND BARRIERS FACING THE GIRL CHILD

Being a Paper delivered to commemorate Girl Child Day

@ St. Anne’s School, Ibadan

By

Olasunmbo SAVAGE, Ph.D.

An advocate for the Girl Child and Women Empowerment/ Principal, St. Anne’s School 2

E-mail: sunmbosa@yahoo.ca

Education holds a key role in every society, and it has been found to be one of the most wide-ranging and beneficial development investments (Savage, 2019). Education empowers and is the key to sustainable development in all facets of life (Aki, 2019). Education is therefore critical to innovation and change; for girls, it is the effective means of increasing their agency for improved living standards, productivity and social cohesion (World Bank, 2012). The place of girl child education is very important as they later grow to be pillars of support to their families, communities and the nation at large (Savage, 2019). Girl child education aims at developing the skill and knowledge of girls and women from all forms of castes and background. Until a girl child education becomes a priority, the future of the country and her place in the world is threatened.

Educational success depends very strongly on the socio-economic status of one’s parents (Graetz, 19995).  Johnson (1996) postulates that parents become poor due to the hard measures, such that they can no longer provide adequately for good education of their children (such as provision of textbooks, school uniforms and good medical care among many others) depriving girls of academic needs necessitated by poor socio-economic situation of the country. Nigeria as a nation therefore need to critically find and apply friendly policies to replace series of socio-economic and educational measures that have not improved the socio-economic and economic and educational status of families in the country. Such measure includes Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), devaluation of the naira, and Universal Basic Education (UBE).

Despite different approaches deployed to encourage the girl-child, there are still many needs to be met for the girl child. The followings represent the challenges faced by the girl child;

Insecurity

Insecurity is one of the challenges faced by the girl child. One cannot forget the Chibok girls’ experience with Boko Haram insurgents so soon. Lear Sharibu was captured since February 19, 2018 along with about 100 other girls of her School; Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State. She is still in captivity of the insurgents till now. According to the terrorists, she refused to renounce her Christian faith since four years ago. She was 15 years then, now 19 years of age. Her education has been truncated as a result of the experience.

Poverty

It has been established that children’s educational achievements overtime have demonstrated that social background remains one of the major sources of educational inequality. Where parents do not have to pay school fees, costs of transportation for the students whose residents are far from their schools pose a big challenge to the girl-child. Absenteeism, lateness to school as a result of long trek poses health challenges and danger to the girl child. Textbooks may not be affordable to be bought by the parents of the girl child. Uniform of a girl child from a less privileged family may be tattered and rumpled. In some situations, parents also rely on girls’ income to support the family.

 In St. Anne’s School, Molete, Ibadan, the Seminary St. Anne’s School Old Girls Association (SSASOGA) have been rising to the task of complementing governments’ efforts at State and National levels in training the Girl Child through provision of Infrastructures, educational tech equipments, health care and scholarships to academically deserving and indigent students. The task is highly commendable in encouraging the girl child to be the best she can be.

Mensuration

Some girls skip classes because they cannot afford to buy sanitary products or they do not have access to clean water supply and sanitation to keep them clean to prevent diseases. Also, girls with special needs do not have access to the facilities and resources needful for proper hygiene.

Other challenges being faced by the girl -child are sexual abuse, female genital mutilation, unwarranted pregnancy. Other forms of abuse being faced by the girl-child include child rape, discrimination, domestic violence, early childhood marriage, abduction, child-trafficking, girl-child labour and so on. The issues of child rape, girl-child marriage, child labour and trafficking have become increasingly threats to girl child progress, affecting their psychological well –being and educational advancements.

Household chores

Forced household chores on the girls create low self esteem and lack of interest in education. Where the boy child is excused from house chores for the girl child to be occupied in taken care of the entire households affect self esteem of the girl child. This does not remove the fact that the girl child is being mentored to be good housewife, mother and asset to her family, community, and the world at large. Boys and girls are to be trained to perform house chores.

Prospects in Educating the Girl Child

The followings are some prospects in educating the girl child;

1. Investing in the girl child will have a ripple effect on the achievement of a better world. The girl child when given adequate care and desirable support, in line with access to better education stands the chance of being able to withstand her counterparts from other nations of the world.
2. The girl child, when given adequate care and support in line with access to better education stands the chance of being able to withstand her counterparts from other nations of the world.
3. Educating the girl child plays a pivotal role in breaking the spine of poverty.
4. To invest in the girl child will bring about improvement in productivity and the labour force.
5. Educating the girl child would produce mothers who are educated and who will thereafter educate their children. The crop of the children will also care for their families and raise socially stable children.  
6. The girl child who is educationally empowered would be predictably independent, economically empowered and ultimately contribute to the development of her family, community, the nation and the world at large.

Conclusion

Educating girls in present will give sweet fruits in the future. Education is the only key to empower girls. Build self esteem of the girl child.  The girl child deserves to be the best she can be by fully utilizing her God-given potentials and be who God created her to be. If you want a good mother, sister, and wife, you have to be involved in educating a girl-child. When girls are given quality education, be assured that their countries would become stronger nation in the comity of nations of the world and would afford them to grow into responsible women with great potentials to do exploit in Nigeria and globally. The time to stand with and for girls to invest in a future that believes in their potential is now.