GIRLS EDUCATION IN MY COMMUNITY AREA, BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS

Girls Education is a most, it is crucial and paramount, very important to educate our girls, because they are the generation to come, failure in their education is the setback and destruction of women in the later generation. We had a motto called ‘women the first teacher for children, builder of nation’. If our girls are not educating how possible to be a nation builder.

Although in the southern part of Nigeria where women in purdah are not recognized , we faced a lot together with our girls, most of their parent are unlettered people they were prevented from going to school during their own time. In the history of Nigeria during the colonial era most of them are forced to convert to Christianity, if they want to go to school, which they can not do. Sincere then, they have had the ideology that who ever sent his or her children to school, the child will not practice Islam again, this led their children to be an unlettered children and it affect most of the girls, they end up in hawker, street girls, most was forced to married at tender age, all this agitate to poverty which are yet to solve.

Presently, the ministry of Education in Nigeria has ordered all the government to be hand picking those children found hawking , this will only agitate to there problem because is not the solution at hand it will only subject them to long poverty. As am writing we still have some that have not overcome the hurdle. We that our parent forced us to school was faced with hell in the school. I in particular have decided to stop after my secondary education then, but my parent did not agreed , my father often told me, that, I must have the mind of change and clear the road for others to have their education, if I did not struggle to become a professional, how am I going to correct others on their ideology.

Now the problem has arise again where the girls are denying the use of cape on their uniform and Muslim parent are complaining that they can not allow their girls to be working around without scarf non cape on thier head and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is supporting not the use of hijab in schools they believe most of the schools belong to them, because the schools is bearing christian names, whereas the government is in control of the schools now, is no more belong to Christians non Muslims,the school is free for Traditional, Christian and Muslim worshipers.

This argument have led to closing down of schools for 2weeks in Osun state Nigeria. How long are will going to be ignorant and continue disturbing ourselves on wrong taught that hijab is a problem in schools, what a fallacy, because of the falls ideology associated with it, most believe it is a culture, while other believed we want to Islamized the state, what a wrong ideology, in Islam we had a verse that stated that, their is no compulsion in religion, and another that stated your religion is for you while their religion is for them, while controversy.

Apart from religion crises, culture is another on the side , the believe is that education is taboo for girls, it will not be a benefit for them in the future that women education end up in the kitchen. Anyhow we have many barriers at hand which I will state below, but what bothered me most is access of women in purdah and girls in hijab to Education.

BARRIERS TO GIRLS EDUCATION IN NIGERIA :
• Religious belief
• Illiteracy
• Poor Economic base
• Insufficient need for power
• Rivalry among women
• Sex stereotype
• Discriminatory attitude of males
• Low participation of women in politics
•
SOLUTIONS TO GIRLS EDUCATION IN MY COMMUNITY .
• Orientation : My women need adequate orientation, the need to send girls to school, the benefit in the nearest future.

• Counseling on ;
(a) cognitive restricting: to assist girls to think rationally, to address real issues and avoid trivialities.
(b) assertiveness training: : this involves acquisition of some useful skills by clients to develop self-confidence and seek for their right without necessary being aggressive.

(c) and guidance services: like workshop, seminars, public address, group discussion e.t.c