A popular
television program in Nigeria once featured a series which centered on the
plight of the ‘girl child’. In this series, a woman was sent out of her matrimonial
home by her husband for having only female children. He even went as far as
abandoning the woman in the hospital when she gave birth to their last child –
a girl. The lack of care led to the death of the child. The woman, who was
previously not earning any income of her own, had to resort to doing all sorts
of menial jobs so she could take care of her three other children (all girls).
A series of unfortunate events ensued in which she lost her mother, her
children were thrown out of school for non-payment of school fees, and their
resorting to street hawking, which further exposed them to additional dangers.
The above
story does not even begin to explain the plight of the ‘girl child’, especially
in the African culture where it is believed that a male child is necessary to
carry on the name of the family, and inherit the family’s assets.
1The UN Women’s Progress of the World’s
Women report, released in April 2015, reveals that women make up 70 percent of
the world’s poor, continue to earn less than the average male and perform the
majority of the world’s unpaid work. The report further reveals that the costs
of being born a woman include:
·
Poverty
in retirement – due to lost earnings in the years spent caring
·
Higher
healthcare costs – in many countries including Chile, girls pay more to visit
the GP than boys
·
Acceptance
that despite legislative progress, you will be paid less for doing the same
work.
The flagship
global report on the state of the world’s women paints a grim economic picture.
The report calculates that at the current rate of change, it will take another
75 years before equal pay occurs. The Report also makes numerous
recommendations about the policy shifts necessary for gender equality to be
reached. These include amongst others, access to healthcare, inheritance
rights, equal pay and of course adequate and affordable childcare.
In order to
alleviate some of the challenges faced by the ‘girl child’ as highlighted
above, the following are recommended:
·
Enlightenment: Ignorance is a major contributor to
gender inequality and discrimination. This ignorance makes it impossible for
women to question the rationality behind certain customs and traditions.
Enlightenment of all parties involved, especially women, is therefore a
significant step towards the elimination of the ‘girl child discrimination’.
·
Effective laws: There are certain laws in place to
protect women and the girl child. The Government should play a major role in
ensuring that these laws are effective and functional.
·
Empowerment: Another way to eliminate gender
discrimination is Empowerment. This involves the strengthening of the individual
and collective abilities of women for positive action. It also involves the generation
of awareness on, and the raising of consciousness against gender
discrimination. This awareness has to be done through all the agents of
socialization – the family, community, schools, churches, mosques and the government.
Women need to be empowered. They need to have a source of income, so they can
be somewhat financially independent. When this happens, issues of gender
discrimination would be significantly minimized.
·
Oversight function of the United
Nations: The
Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted
by the UN General assembly in 1979 and ratified by many countries, including
Nigeria. However, the pace of reform has been restrained due to ineffective
enforcement and encumbering local laws. The UN should therefore embark on
measures to prevail on the governments to fulfill their commitment and
obligations to women and the society at large, in order to combat the scourge
of gender discrimination.
