As we commemorate International Women’s Day with the theme “Equal rights, Equal opportunities; Progress for all”, we must bring to the forefront the challenges surrounding education of the girl-child, which remains a vital component for development in our society. 

Imagine your life today without an education. Imagine you in a world where you don’t have the right to go to school, not even a choice to consider education. What you see is the experience of so many females living in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern region, in which lies Jega Local Government. A lot of girls in this region didn’t have the right to choose education until the Local government chairman in Kebbi State enacted a bye-law, making female education compulsory. Isn’t that great news? After so many years of living in ignorance! 

Reports show that in a school of 150 students, only 2-3 are girls. ActionAID International (AAIN) discovered in their research that there was gap in favor of boys in school enrollment, retention and completion in these states. "The study on girls’ education revealed factors affecting girls’ education as cost of education, school environment, government policies and the culture of the people amongst others. There are no policies that specifically address gender issues thereby leaving room for the gender gap."

In the past, education has not necessarily been a priority for the girl-child because of cultural beliefs, poverty and so on. It’s not surprising because, particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria, educating the girl child isn’t part of the culture, so girls are not allowed to choose education, neither are they encouraged to go to school. It is believed that the place of the girl child is in her husband’s house. As a matter of fact, some cultures allows for girls to get married from the age of 8 which is why girls in the Northern region account for the highest rate of VVF in Nigeria.  

Until now, it’s been challenging to implement programmes that will enhance education of girls and women in the Northern region -particularly in rural communities, since they are not at liberty to get an education. However, things are changing. The Child Rights Act has been passed into law in some states but a lot still needs to be done.

Even though there are other states in Nigeria where girl-child education is still not a priority, we really do hope that other state local government chairmen will emulate this and push for free education for all, irrespective of gender. As we seek to attain the MDGs, education will continue to play a pivotal role in the development of young women and society at large. Remember, when you educate a woman, you educate a home, and in turn society will be better for it.