Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Plateau, have urged government at all levels to promote girl-child education through the distribution of free pads in public schools.
The NGOs in separate on Friday in Jos, noted that menstruation was one of the major factors impeding access to education for the girl-child.
Mrs Keturah Shammah, the Executive Director, Girls Education Mission (GEM) International, said that they found out in their recent outreaches to some public schools in Plateau, that no fewer than 10 girls miss school during their menstruation period.
“Most of these girls when they are menstruating, they do not come to school. In our survey, anytime we go to a school we would have not less than 10 girls absent because of menstrual periods.
“ Most recently was in Government Secondary Hwolshe, where we distributed pads to the girls on the International Day of the Girl-Child,” she said.
She said that reusable pads should be distributed to girls in public schools, through deliberate efforts by government in investing in their education, which is one of their fundamental human rights.
She also urged parents to be intentional in empowering their daughters through education without perceiving the act as a waste of resources.
“We want to advocate to parents to see the need to take their children especially the girl-child to school, because we discovered that some parents do it not because they do not have the resources to take care of their children to school, but because they do not prioritise girl-child education.
“ Education is the right to every child, the government has a covenant with the Nigerian child to provide quality, free and accessible education to them including boys and girls. They should be reminded of their covenant, ” she said.
She added that toilets should also be constructed in public schools to enable the young girls have privacy to observe menstrual hygiene and dispose the non-reusable ones properly.
Similarly, Mrs Fatima Suleiman, the Executive Director, Islamic Counselling Initiative of Nigeria (ICIN), also advocated for access to basic education for the girl-child, in line with the provisions of the Universal Basic Education Act of compulsory free education for all children of primary and junior secondary schools in Nigeria.
She urged government not to neglect marginalized communities particularly those who have been affected by crisis in the Plateau.
According to her, “There are reports of large number of out of school girls, who have been used as vehicles for child labor, child abuse when they are supposed to be in school in these areas, ” she said.
The NGOs said that investing in girl-child education was in line with the 2023 theme of the International Day of the Girl-Child, which is marked annually on October 11, “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being”.
