ON Sunday, October 11, the world will mark the International Day of the Girl Child, and this year’s theme, “End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights,” points to a problem that continues to shape the lives of millions of girls, including many in Nigeria. The theme was developed through consultations with girls, girls’ organisations and girl-led networks, which means it reflects what girls themselves say they need most.
UNICEF’s 2026 estimates show that about one in five girls around the world is married before the age of 18. That adds up to roughly 650 million women and girls alive today who were married as children. Behind that figure are girls who were taken out of classrooms, handed responsibilities meant for adults and denied the chance to decide who they would become.
Child marriage rarely stands alone. In many communities it grows out of poverty, where a family under pressure sees marriage as a way to ease the burden of feeding and schooling a daughter. It is also sustained by harmful social beliefs that treat a girl’s value as tied to marriage and childbearing rather than to her education and abilities.
Once a girl is married, she is far more likely to drop out of school, to become pregnant while still a child herself and to face violence in a home she had no power to refuse.
For this reason, ending child marriage depends on meeting the wider needs of girls. Education comes first, because a girl who stays in school has more options and is better able to understand and defend her rights. Families need economic support so that poverty does not force a daughter out of school, and schools must be safe places, free from harassment and abuse, where parents feel confident sending their girls.
Girls also need protection from the many forms of violence that threaten them, including sexual and gender-based violence and trafficking. Their health needs attention as well, especially access to accurate information about their bodies and to care that keeps early pregnancy from ending their education.
Girls also need protection from cyberbullying, scams and online exploitation, since a girl can now be harmed in her own bedroom through a phone.
Just as important, girls need to be heard.
Too often, decisions about their lives are made by adults who never ask what they think. Safe spaces where girls can ask questions, raise concerns and help shape solutions are not a favour to them. They are a right, and the theme’s focus on girls’ rights is a reminder that girls are not waiting to be rescued but are already speaking up about what must change.
The call to invest in girls’ rights places a responsibility on everyone. Governments must enforce laws that set 18 as the minimum age for marriage and fund the services that help girls stay safe and in school. Parents and guardians can choose to keep their daughters in school and to listen to their dreams.
Teachers, traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups and the private sector all have influence over the beliefs and conditions that either protect girls or put them at risk.
The returns on this investment are lasting. A girl who finishes school, stays healthy and marries only when she chooses is more likely to earn a living, raise healthy children and contribute to her community.
When that happens across a country, the whole nation benefits, which is why protecting girls today is one of the surest ways to secure Nigeria’s tomorrow.
As October 11 approaches, the day should be more than a moment of speeches and social media posts. It is a chance for families, schools, communities and leaders to ask what they are doing to make sure that no girl is married off before she is ready, and that every girl is free to learn, to grow and to choose her own future.
- West is a seasoned journalist and development practitioner with over a decade of experience in media, human rights advocacy, and NGO leadership. Her syndicated column, The Wednesday Lens, is published every Wednesday in News Point Nigeria newspaper. She can be reached at bomawest111@gmail.com.