By Aishatu Shuaibu Yunusa
Education is a fundamental human right that should be availed to all citizens with the
rehabilitation indulgent of having or indecating the tendency lenient of age, sex and nationality of giving the brightness of moral conduct, behaviour in the life of human and social amenities. Therefore, educating the girl child translates to better health for the future generation, reduction in child morbidity and mortality thus triggering a snowball effect of achieving all other Sustainable Development Goals in a viable manner.
There are a lot of human right instruments that provide for education as a fundamental right, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
The importance of education in the life of an individual can not be left behind. In both spiritual conduct and temporal or aspects of human existence, education is paramount giving a testimonial behaviour of human being. Also the brightness that shows the way of removing the darkness of illiteracy, ignorance behaviour of any human life, the salt that gives the taste of life; the medicine that cures; and the key which open door of success and promoting self reliance.
The best favour that parents can do to their childs is to educate herself “to get the knowledge of education” in order to have a meaninful and good moral conduct to others people in the nation ”education is a key to success”.
Females like their male counterparts indeed have the right to education and skills acquisition, the right to choice and self-actualisation. But what we see in most societies today is the other way round.
Many girls do not have adequate education past a certain age. When a girl is 12-15 years old, the elders in the community feel she is “entitle for marriage” because their words are few to expressed. In this perfection what are her words when the elders in the community have spoken? A girl who is given out in marriage at a very tender age is placed at a very high risk. She is not matured enough to be a mother, without any skill, information and confidence that might lead to her, being a better mother and the wife if she were educated.
So also when a girl is given out in marriage at a very tender age, to a man who is old enough to be her grandfather, her right as a human has been abused as most Nigerians
The native traditional philosophy is that a woman’s place is in her husband’s kitchen and her primary role centres on her home. This belief have kept many girls away from education when a girl is given out in marriage at a very tender age, to a man who is old enough to be her grandfather, her right as a human has been abused as most Nigeria.
The first of colonialism, rigid ideas on gender were imposed on the African mind, thereafter, the woman’s role has come to be merely for sexual and commercial labours – satisfying the sexual needs of men, working in the fields, carrying loads, tending to babies and preparing food. How can a girl who is not up to 18 years old be able to execute all these duties and look after her so called “family”? She is not matured enough to give birth and in the process of giving birth could become exposed to certain viral infections and even lose her life.
Therefore, educating the girl child translates to better health for the future generation, reduction in child morbidity and mortality thus triggering a snowball effect of achieving all other Sustainable Development Goals in a viable manner.
The girl child education also prepares her to face the reality in society and teaches her to be a good wife mother. When she is educated, she realises the full potentials endowed in her; she discovers to be whoever and whatever she wants to be. With education, she would break the shell of ignorance and open that of self-discovery. We have vibrant and outstanding women in Nigeria like Professor Rukaiyyatu Rufai, professor Ngozi Okonju Waila, Dr. Zuwaira Hassan, Mrs Farida Waziri, Mrs Sadiya umar Farouq, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, there are females that are contributing toward making the intensive progress for the light of the nation among others their is a saying that “What a man can do, a woman can do better.
Parents have a virtal roles to play in educating there childs toward given them good moral conduct in satisfying the commercials labour of human behaviour, there rigid ideas on gender duties from the grassroot level, so parents should help there childrent in sharpenned the need of success in the globe. So girl child needs to be educated to acquire knowledge and skills needed to advance her status for social interactions and self-improvement.
It has been established by researchers that enabling female education is crucial for national development, and the role of women cannot be underestimated. The general belief is that “when you educate a man, you educate one but when you educate a woman, you educate a nation.” This is so because the education of every child starts from the family and the mother is the first teacher. Educating the girl child produces mothers who are educated and who will in turn educate their children, care for their families and provide their children.
The Child’s Rights Act should be strengthened and implemented in all states. This would go a long way in checkmating indiscriminate child abuse. This is because, as girls are not educated, they remain dependent on their parents before marriage, on their husbands after marriage, and on their children if eventually their husbands die. Would you as a concerned, caring and loving father or mother love to see your daughter in this condition? the write up hoping and encouraging the girl child education.
The native traditional philosophy is that a woman’s place is in her husband’s kitchen and her primary role centres on her home. This belief have kept many girls away from education.
The Pen will not vomit all, thus; attention of all relevant bodies are needed to contribute in the crusade for the betterment of life of parents and children.
Aishatu Shu’aibu Yunusa, is HND II Student of Mass Communication Department,
Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi.
