Nigeria: Leave Your Girls in School, Actionaid Charges Parents
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This Day (Lagos)
8 July 2008
Posted to the web 9 July 2008
Saka Ibrahim
Birnin Kebbi
Programme Adviser of ACTIONAID, Mrs. Azuka Menkiti has advised parents in the northern region of the country not to withdraw their female children from school, adding that the organisation discovered that girls, especially in Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi States were being denied education.
"We have discovered that girls in these states were being denied education. In the past three years, we have intervened and the percentage of those in school has increased as a result of enlightenment campaign."
Menkiti, who gave this advice at the launch of ACTIONAID 'Enhancing Girls Basic Education in Northern Nigeria (EGBENN)' Phase Two project in Zamfara State, identified the factors militating against girls' education in the northern states as lack of infrastructure, government policy, little resources for household and families as well as community beliefs and practices.
She regretted that parents send their female children to hawk to sustain the family, as a result of abject poverty, adding that ACTIONAID has intervened in 28 communities and nine local government areas in these states over a period of three years.
The Programme Adviser therefore appealed to government, traditional rulers and opinion leaders to change the attitude of their subjects towards girl-child education, in order to reverse the trend.
The Emir of Zamfara and Chairman of the Council of Emirs and Chiefs, Alhaji Mohammadu Ahamad Atthairo, urged all northern State Houses of Assembly to enact laws on early marriage that would stop parents from preventing girls from going to school, just as he advocated for two counsellorship seats for women in each local government.
He attributed obstacles to girls' education in the region to ignorance of Islamic religion and poverty and stressed the need for northern women to go to school and change the present trend.
He explained that Islam was not against sending female children to school, but some Islamic Scholars misrepresented the dictate of the Holy Book. "It is possible for modern and Islamic education to go together with serious planning by government and parents, but
because of poverty in the region, many parents could not afford to send their children to school especially girls. Necessary encouragement must be given to enable them to go to school. The local government too, should try to pay their transportation to and from school. We have already started this in my local government."
Atthairo commended ACTIONAID Nigeria for carrying out enlightenment programme on girl-child education in the northern states and advised other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to emulate the organisation.
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Earlier, wife of the State Deputy Governor, Hajiya Fatima Ibrahim Aliyu disclosed that the state had been encouraging parents to send their girls to school and believed that with the launch of EGBENN phase two, more parents would be willing to send their female children to school. She said the state, through its agencies would mobilise rural women on the need to send girls to school to make their future better.
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