ON the International Day of the Girl Child, themed “The Girl I Am, The Change I Lead: Girls on the Frontlines of Crisis,” Kaduna’s Murtala Mohammed Square pulsed with the voices of over 500 Nigerian girls demanding action against systemic barriers.
Here are five critical challenges stifling the potential of girls in Nigeria:
1. Lack of Education: Nigeria hosts one in five of the world’s out-of-school children, with 5 million adolescent girls affected—only 41% enroll in the northeast and 47% in the northwest. Poverty, unsafe schools, and cultural biases prioritising boys drive this crisis, worsened by Boko Haram’s attacks.
2. Child Marriage: 44% of girls marry before 18, with rates hitting 50% in northern states, cutting secondary school completion by 23%. Practices like “Money Woman” trade girls for debt relief, trapping them in poverty and health risks.
3. Gender-Based Violence: 27% of girls face female genital mutilation, while abductions and trafficking surge in conflict zones. Survivors, often stigmatised, lack reintegration support, especially in the northeast.
4. Poverty and Malnutrition: With 70% of families below the poverty line, girls are forced into hawking or domestic work. Floods and insecurity exacerbate malnutrition, affecting 5.4 million children in 2025.
5. Health and Disability Gaps: Limited access to reproductive health and disability-inclusive services leaves girls vulnerable, particularly in crisis-hit areas with poor sanitation.