THE GIRL-CHILD SHOULD BE EDUCATED

The issue as to whether girls should go to school as long as boys is quite debatable. I cry out for education of the girl-child. In my local community, it is increasingly believed and people are beginning to think that the traditional discrimination against the girl-child is unfounded and obstructive to the progress of society.

Another line of thought, no less popular than this one, holds that resources in my local community are limited and people are poor hence available limited facilities should be used to train the boys first.(This means there will hardly be a chance for girls in my community to be well educated).

I am the silent voice that cry out against the believe that the girl-child is suppose to stay at home to carry out household chores such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of babies and at the end be minimized, insulted and disrespected. My local community here in the North West Region believes and says all the above mentioned activities are duties the girl-child will eventually perform when she gets into her marital home. So, it is but logical that she gets use to them rather than going to study Mathematics or elementary Chemistry in school.

In the same vein, some African parents believe that the girl-child is not a permanent member of the family in the sense that she will be given out in marriage to a different and may be far-off family that will own her completely by dint of the bride price paid on her. There is therefore no point investing in a passer-by.

Another powerful threat is the fear of pregnancy which poses a threat on the girl’s education. Sexual promiscuity, inexperience and carelessness are likely to bring about pregnancy which usually retards or simply stops the girl’s education. This discourages parents considerably. The thought of a girl-child being educated poses a threat in her marital home since my local community thinks she would not want to be blindly submissive as her uneducated counterparts, thereby giving an added advantage for a boy-child to be educated instead. Despite all these believes, I am the silent voice that cries for the girl-child to be educated and that the girl-child has legal rights to enjoy the same opportunity as the boy-child.

I also shout out positively that the girl-child as proven in modern society is the only one who mostly remains strongly attached to their original families and that much investment has to be done on the girl-child’s education if their parents have to expect a high bride price on her.

A girl-child as I cry deserves to be educated. An educated girl-child can best manage a home better than an uneducated one, while lack of education is disqualified as a basis of submissiveness since many illiterate wives have come out to be the most unsubmissive, poorly behaved   and scattered housewives.

Being a strong advocate to the education of every girl-child, I say ignorance and unawareness is a disease and should be strongly treated by encouraging the education of a girl-child. Information I strongly believe is POWER, hence our female children need to be empowered with the gift of education as they are the BACK BONE of every economy.

An educated woman is really a great investment and a pillar to every shaking society. Hence a girl-child deserves to be educated.