Nigeria: Out-of-School Children – Women Groups Move to Stop Girls From Hawking

THE menace of hawking, especially by young girls, is a serious nightmare in many parts of the North and appears to have defied efforts to end it. It is a challenge that continues to stare the governors in the face as they explore measures to get such children back to school.

The culture in these areas does not frown at early marriage and begging while roaming the street. As a result of this laxity, girls of school age can be spotted or seen scattered around the streets, filling stations, motor parks and markets among others, trying to eke a living rather than study in school. This has the potential to disrupt the future of the gild-child and cause avoidable problems for their families.

Apparently worried by the negative trend, two women groups: the Mothers Association, and the High Level Women Advocates, HILWA, have begun moves to address the challenge.

The duo- Mothers Association and HILWA-are components of the Girls Education Project 3, GEP 3 funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO and implemented by the United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF. They were initiated to join forces to change the narrative of girl-child education in the states.

We go from house-to-house to gatherings, for girl child enrollment campaigns

A member of the Mothers Association in Sumaila LGA, Kano State, Hajia Sabuwa Sumaila, said they embark on house-to-house campaign to meet with parents of such children to sensitise them on the need to get the children back to school. She said they also visit gatherings such as naming and wedding ceremonies to enlighten the people to do all they can to end any action that would stop girls from accessing education so as to increase their chances of becoming useful members of the society.

According to her: “We have achieved a lot. We go from house to house to return the children (those with issues) to school. When we meet children who are engaged in street hawking instead of going to school, we follow them to their parents and talk to them on the need to discourage them from hawking and send them to school so that they can also become useful to themselves and their families in the future.

“As a result of this intervention, a lot of children have returned to school. And as a result of the campaign, many have now been sensitised on the importance of girl- child education.

We take our campaigns to gatherings such as naming and wedding ceremony and Islamic schools, among others,” Hajia Sabuwa said. We contribute our widow’s mite to return the children back to school.

For their counterpart in Katsina, the leader of the mothers association in Rimi LGA, Katsina State, Hajia Aisha Halilu, said they contribute their widow’s mite to return the children (out of school children or orphans) to school. She said they use their contributions to pay school fees and also sew school uniforms for the pupils, adding: “We have sewed over 50 school uniforms and re-enrolled over 90 pupils back to school so far. We contribute among ourselves what we can afford to support the children.”

We pushed for passage of a law to ensure access to education — HILWA

HILWA, in Katsina State said they had gone extra miles to push for the passage of a law to ensure access to basic education for all children, including the girl-child. The Secretary of HILWA, Hajia Wasila Saulawa, said the law spells out punishments for parents who withdraw their girl-child from schools for street hawking, among other offences, as well as teachers who aid and abet the offence under the law.

Hajia Saulawa cited instance with Section 11 (1) of the law which says: “No parent or teacher shall take away or allow a child to be taken away from school during school hours for the purpose of street begging, farming, buying and selling, hawking and any other related matters. Anyone who contravenes the provisions of Sub-Section (1) of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to two weeks imprisonment with option of a fine of N10,000.

Section 12 says: “Any teacher or head teacher who aids, abets or conspires with any parent or guardian to commit any of the offences under this law, shall on conviction be liable to: (a) for the first offence be suspended for three (3) months with half salary and (b) for the subsequent offences (street hawking) be terminated from service.” Section 13 (1) says: “No parent shall withdraw a child from school or cause the child to engage in activities that may distract such child from attending school, including hawking, among others.” Section 13 (2) says: “Any person who contravenes the provision of Sub-Section (1) of this section commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to two (2) months imprisonment with an option of fine of N15,000”.

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