Girls Rights: Bridging the Gaps

The debate over girls’ and women’s rights has sparked interest at all levels. Inequalities in various areas have significantly impacted the female child. Girl’s rights topics such as the right to life, the right to education, the right to health, the right to protection, girls in conflict, and freedom from sexual abuse and exploitation have all received attention to address impediments to girls’ potential. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably the fifth goal’s aim of attaining gender equality and empowering women, bolster the need to close existing disparities. In Nigeria, proposed frameworks such as the Violence Against Persons Prohibition law target women and girls’ needs, especially in conflict-affected communities. Despite the existence of actions to achieve a robust approach to girls’ rights, actions such as persistent violent conflict, cultural barriers, and other circumstances have hindered the complete attainment of this goal. While the need to invest in girls’ rights remains paramount, certain obstacles have hindered the achievement of the full potential of girls.

These obstacles include poverty, cultural prejudices against women, climate crisis, and conflict. The notion that the girl child belongs in the kitchen has been challenged for years. While substantial progress has been made in restructuring the global mindset, certain factors undermine these efforts. Despite years of continued efforts, at least 200 million women and girls living in 31 countries have undergone cultural prejudice in the form of female genital mutilation (FGM). This gruesome violence against the female body continues to occur irrespective of widespread education and, on extreme occasions, government crackdowns. This points to an entrenched cultural limitation on the girl child from birth worldwide. Voices such as Jaha Dukureh, Ifrah Ahmed and Rugiatu Turay have continued to speak up about the dangers FGM poses to women worldwide.

Minimal effort is given to the climate crisis’s devastating impact on the girl child. In the coastal cities of Asia and Africa, rising sea levels have resulted in massive flooding, affecting access to clean water and displacing many. By 2050, 40 million girls will be victims of the effects of the climate crisis. Girls risk being sexually harassed and abused in the tumultuous aftermath of a disaster, where congestion and a lack of resources expose them to harm. This further affects hygiene and, by extension, contributes to period inequity and exposes the girl child to health risks, exploitation and limited access to education. Some families facing economic downturns are forced to give away their underage female children in marriage to reduce economic burdens. The global climate issue is already impacting girls’ lives and prospects. Nevertheless, despite these disparate effects on girls, fewer than 2 per cent of national climate plans worldwide specifically address girls and consider their needs and participation. Young women like Oladosu Adenike have been relentlessly spreading information on climate action through social media and podcasts.

Violent conflicts in Nigeria have stifled the trajectory of girls’ rights and potential and disproportionately affected women and girls. This is evident in the number of women in IDP camps, sexual abuse and gender-based violence, exploitation of girls in conflict, and out-of-school children. For the past few years, kidnappings targeting mostly school girls have occurred in Nigeria. The incidents have reopened the conversation on the vulnerability of the girl child in violent conflict hotspots. The lasting impact of violence on school girls threatens years of investments made towards restructuring the cultural mindset of ‘educating the girl child’. Also, not only does this serve as a setback, but the psychological effects it leaves on girls directly violate their rights to life, health and education. Their deplorable conditions range from lack of access to basic amenities such as food, water and period care to exposure to gender-based violence. There are existent lapses to the ‘educate the girl child’ agenda when their safety cannot be guaranteed within the four walls of a school, which should serve as a haven.

It is of utmost importance that in the efforts geared towards stability in violent conflict regions, special attention is given to the protection of cultural progress made over the years in the form of equal rights. Considerable progress has been made from a society marred with cultural barriers against educating the girl child to a society which prioritises education for all. As such, the rights of the girl child to live a life free of gender-based prejudices, a life devoid of violations of her fundamental human rights and a life free of limitations is one which the society ought to protect. It is not enough that it is spoken on; it must be acted on.

The government is the most important factor in preserving the rights of the girl child. Their response to these acts of violence against girls of different age groups could encourage or dissuade the perpetrators. The rescue response deployed by the government since the Chibok Girls incident in 2014, albeit partially successful, did not provide a permanent solution, as evident in the recent surge in school kidnappings. Mobilising multiple rapid response teams around these kidnapping hotspots can boost response time and allocate favourable resources to tackle school kidnappings. This can be paired with an early warning system geared towards dedicating resources to identify threats through networks of security agencies working underground to predict and prevent impending attacks.

The fight against climate crisis remains a global effort that transcends borders. It is a movement to retain our very existence, and as such, all hands must be on deck. The grievous effect it poses to the girl child cannot be curtailed until the root cause is addressed. Therefore, every country owes it to the girl child to abide by the Paris Climate Accords to mitigate climate change’s effects. Furthermore, there is a need for women and girls-focused climate resilience and adaptability interventions, as climate crisis affects them more grievously.

The identification of poverty as a limitation to women and girls’ rights indicates that addressing poverty woes, especially by the government through legislative reforms and government-targeted efforts, would provide a solid foundation for women and girls to enjoy basic needs while also focusing on careers and the boundless possibilities of impacting the world on equal footing.

The conversation around girls’ rights will continue to be important, factoring the identified areas that require attention, and it is a discussion that dates on a calendar must not bind. Beyond the International Day of the Girl Child, indignities continually plague girls. These conversations must be sustained daily until sustainable progress is made. Global Efforts have been made towards actualising the rights of the girl child; however, it is important to factor in the impediments to these rights continuously. These impediments may be peculiar to the regions, cultures and practices. They must be considered for maximum success in the journey to a world where the girl child has no limitations.

Recommended Reading:

• Building a Child-Friendly Nation: Policy Initiatives and Challenges
• Out-of-School Children: Using a Gendered Analysis for North-East Nigeria
• Food, Fear, and Fortitude: Rural Women’s Journey Amid Armed Conflicts in Plateau State