Research has shown over time that girl child education is militated by an array of factors like poor family background, social exclusion, religious isolation, poverty, early marriage and pregnancy, gender discrimination, cultural discrimination, and stereotypical attitudes against women’s status and role in society.

The girl child in Nigerian homes is trained to assume domestic responsibilities from a young age. She is taught to take care of the home and see to the well-being of everybody. She is lauded as a heroine “wife material” for pulling her chores off easily, not minding that there are better yardsticks for praising her. This eventually affects her esteem as she soon matches her worth with her chores.

The problem is that the girl child grows up with little or no self-development. Nobody points her to herself, only her academics. She is neither taught nor guided to find her purpose early. Many times she finds it late or ends up adopting the trends for a purpose. Some even walk the path of their friends who influence them their way.

This overlook has caused many girls to grow up thinking that their roles are limited to keeping their homes, getting married, raising children, and probably going to a 9 to 5 job if the circumstances are favorable. Those who burst out take a risk at name-calling: over-ambitious, cannot keep a home, a man, etc. How many women have thick skins to bear these?

Yet, it can be better. Bursting out should be a norm. The girl child should be guided to find her purpose early and be empowered with the knowledge that navigates her through life as she expresses her purpose and achieves great success and utmost satisfaction despite the challenges she faces.

Girl child education helps girls and women to take advantage of opportunities that could benefit them; such advantages that they would not see if they were not thinking of developing themselves in the first place. If she is taught to see herself as worth more, she will always bring her A-game to society. That is what we want to achieve.