Girls Deserve To Be Educated

In our society today, the number of uneducated girls we see roaming around just leaves one to ponder on the fate of our country.
I don’t see any reason why in the 21st Century, a parent should hesitate, if he or she has the means to send his or her children to school. It is so unacceptable that in this age, people do not see the evils of illiteracy, especially among women. Some parents though they have the means, refuse to send their female children to school in the belief that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. That is a very false theory, because majority of the best cooks in the world are men. Moreover, most of the important things a woman needs before she becomes a good home maker needs to be learnt in school.
They say ignorance is a disease but ignorance in a female child is the worst disease of all. For a girl who will eventually be a mother someday to be stopped from going to school is a curse on that girls’ life. Where is she expected to learn the basic necessities of motherhood from? And worst of all, many parents cannot confidently teach sex education without withdrawing some important facts for fear that the child will want to try it out of curiosity. If a child who was thought sex education like that at home does not go to school, then she is doomed for life. This is one of the reasons why teenagers get pregnant. That is why girl children should be sent to school to know some important things like menstrual hygiene, STDs and all that.
Some parents claim that there is no money to send their girls to school and that the money they have is for the boy’s education. So I urge the government to offer scholarships to girls. This may even change some hard hearted parents’ mind in sending girls to school. And it will give the girls the zeal to study hard in school.
The girl children should be properly educated for not just their good but for the development of the society at large. So, I urge the government to look deeply into this issue and ensure that Nigerian girls are well educated.
Chioma Ozioko,
Enugu.