By Ibrahim Aisha
Across much of Northern Nigeria, girls still face an invisible wall after secondary school. Parents’ fears, tight household budgets, and the pull of early marriage keep many daughters at home. Yet, data and role models reveal what is lost when the ambition of a female child is clipped.
For generations, education has been regarded as the key to progress and empowerment. Still, in conservative societies, the education of girls beyond the basics is often seen as unnecessary or even a threat to tradition despite government campaigns, NGO interventions, and success stories of women who have broken barriers.
The world has become a global village. Technology, digital communication, and international mobility have reshaped how we live and work. In this new reality, uneducated girls are left voiceless, powerless, and excluded from the spaces where contemporary women now thrive sitting in parliaments, leading global institutions, directing multinational companies, and innovating in science and technology.
Why, in 2025, do some communities still resist girls’ education?
The answer often lies in illiteracy. Parents who never had the privilege of education sometimes fail to see its value. Many fear what they do not understand. To them, sending a daughter to university feels like losing her to an unknown world.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics as at 2017 defined literacy as the percentage of people aged 15 and above who can read, write, and understand simple expressions in any language. A Punch Editorial Board report from September 2023 highlighted Nigeria’s poor education outlook: although the government claimed a national literacy rate of 69%, this figure hides wide regional disparities.
According to a UNICEF report on the state of Nigeria’s children, 10.2 million primary school-aged children and 8.1 million secondary school-aged children are out of school in the country.Reports indicate that between 2020 and 2025, Northern Nigeria consistently recorded between five and seven million out-of-school girls, with only minor fluctuations despite ongoing efforts.
Socio-Cultural Impediments
Household-level constraints on access to education are not entirely economic. Studies and surveys identify several socio-cultural factors: erosion of extended family solidarity, weakening societal values, and gender-related issues such as teenage pregnancy, early marriage, and perceptions about the “proper role” of women.
Northern Nigeria is still shaped by cultural practices harmful to women’s emancipation, including early and forced marriage, wife-inheritance, widowhood practices, lack of access to education, low enrollment rates, poor funding, inadequate facilities for persons with disabilities, and frequent disruptions caused by conflict and seasonal migration.
Stories from the Ground
The experiences of girls and women across the North reveal both the struggles and the possibilities of education.
Rahama Dajuma, a graduate, said that education had done everything for her. She now works with an NGO and is about to get married. She relieved her father from the stress of buying furniture for her wedding, and her fiancé is allowing her to keep her job.
Zainab Abubakar, a student, mother and a resident of Sabuwar Gwammaja, argued that girls should be asked their opinions because “you can force a horse to the riverbank but you cannot force it to drink.” She added that many parents above 60 in her community do not want their sons to marry women educated beyond secondary school, fearing such women will not be submissive.
Zakiyyah Al-Hassan, a resident of Chiranchi, shared that she is not educated but wants her child to go beyond secondary school. According to her, the world is changing and women should not be stuck in the kitchen, as educated women contribute to the home even before bringing in their salaries.
Fatima Abubakar, a student of the School of Hygiene, explained that she is the only one schooling out of nine children. Her father could not afford fees for all, so her siblings sacrificed for her.
Iya Aminatu, a resident of Kurna Kwachiri, revealed that none of her seven daughters went beyond junior secondary school because her husband is completely against it, and she could not object to his decision.
Malam Rafa’i, a local Islamic teacher and resident of Tsakuwa, said during a telephone interview that it is a waste of time and resources to send a girl to school when she should stay home and learn how to cook so as to be a perfect wife to her husband.
Fatima Haruna, a secondary school graduate, recalled that her elder sister Khadijah finished with flying colours and was promised that she could continue schooling. After marriage, her husband refused, saying he had no intention of letting her further her education. He had only used that promise to lure her into marriage. Since then, their father insists that no daughter can further her education unless her husband agrees.
The Road Ahead
These stories show that the real question has shifted from “Should girls be educated?” to “How fast can Northern Nigeria catch up?” Education experts and stakeholders warn that if the situation does not improve, Northern Nigeria risks falling further behind, with dire consequences for national development. The region needs more investment in infrastructure, security, and teacher training. Cultural reorientation campaigns must also be intensified to promote the value of education, especially for girls.
The answer lies in stronger government commitment, sustained community awareness, and the courage to challenge harmful traditions. Education is no longer a privilege. It is a necessity for survival in the global age.
