By Ajiri Daniels, Abuja
As part of efforts to promote access to quality education for young women and girls, as well as curb cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), the Girls Education Access Initiative (GEAI), has called for the creation of an enabling policy environment to increase enrollment and retention in school for all children, especially girls.
GEAI made the call in Abuja on Thursday during the 2024 Girls Education Summit (GES’24), themed, “Championing the rights of young women and girls to quality education in policy and practice.”
Mrs. Kemi Gbadamosi-Braimah, Founder, GEAI, explained that the summit, organised in collaboration with the Network of Youths for Sustainable Initiative (NGYouthSDGs), was aimed at rallying diverse stakeholders around collaborative strategies and solutions that guarantee equal opportunities and access to education for girls.
Gbadamosi-Braimah, while giving a snapshot of the current state of affairs of Nigerian girls, noted that there were over 10 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, with girls and young women accounting for over 60 percent of the figure. This statistics, according to her, underscores the critical importance of addressing the multifaceted barriers girls face, from child marriage to sexual violence, conflict and fragility, cultural and religious beliefs, and patriarchy, among others.
“We’ve never really had a national summit to discuss girls’ education, and this GES’24 is just a starting point. Nigeria is one of the countries working towards the Millennium Development Goals, and if we are not putting girls in schools and we have a large number of young women who are out of school, it means we are falling behind on SDGs 4&5 because girls education and gender equality go hand-in-hand.
This summit is significant for us because we’re bringing together like-minded organisations and partners who not only understand the importance of girls education but also recognise that we are in a crisis; it’s a crisis because we shouldn’t be having this many girls who are not going to school. When you look at how education intersects with everything else, it intersects with health, and we know that education is also a preventive tool for HIV, for young women and girls, who today account for the highest number of HIV infections globally, because a large number of them are not getting access to education.
“The significance of this for us is that in the end, we hope to come up with an action document, a communiqué, or an issue paper to present to the government, with recommendations from experts.
James O’Donoghue, First Secretary, Development Diplomacy and Education, British High Commission, also addressed summit participants and reiterated the UK’s commitment to supporting the Nigerian government in general and education specifically.
According to O’Donoghue, girls education is one of the best investments that the world can make, as it supports economic and social development and breaks generational cycles of poverty.
“Educating a girl is not just the right thing to do; it is also the smart thing to do. It raises a lifetime earning for girls and grows the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), reduces child marriage, and maternal mortality rates,” he stated.
Also addressing participants, Mrs. Christina Uzo-Okamgba, Founder and Executive Director, Tabitha Empowerment Centre (TEC), highlighted the pressing need for collective action to tackle the array of challenges facing girl-child education in Nigeria.
She said despite the policies to improve access to education, a high estimate of young girls were still out of school and faced various barriers ranging from child marriage to harmful cultural practices, patriarchal norms, and sexual violence .
“The alarming statistics by UNICEF stating that over 10 million children in Nigeria are out of school and 60% of them are girls is a wake-up call for all of us to make sure that our girls have access to education.
“The barriers to education for girls, ranging from child marriage, harmful cultural practices, and patriarchal norms to sexual violence, are deeply rooted. These are the challenges that our girls are facing, and we have to come together to make sure that all these vices are eliminated in society to enable our girls have access to education. These obstacles not only deprive girls of their rights to education but also limit their potential to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the nation’s development,” Mrs. Uzo-Okamgba said.
She restated TEC’s commitment to dismantling these barriers by championing inclusive educational opportunities for vulnerable children, particularly survivors of gender-based violence.
She therefore called on stakeholders to unite and develop actionable policies and initiatives that will ensure that girls have access to quality education.
Other participants at the event included traditional leaders, Representatives of Education Ministry and Civil Society Organisations, students from Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Local Education Authority (LEA), Kpegeyi, among others.