Married Girls, Adolescent Mothers Need Support to Return to School – Malala Fund

By Aisha Gambo, Kaduna

Malala Fund has urges the Kaduna state Government to strengthen re-entry policies that enable married girls and adolescent mothers to return to school so that they contribute positively to the society .

Ms Nabila Aguele, Chief Executive of the fund in Nigeria, said this during a visit to the Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE) in Zaria, Kaduna State.

She explained that the visit followed the fund’s first-ever global board meeting held in Nigeria, and was aimed at engaging directly with grassroots partners.

“When you are partnering with organisations and advocating girls’ education, you must be on the ground to see and experience the safe spaces, talk to the girls, their mentors and teachers.

“Today we met adolescent mothers in safe spaces who have faced challenges ranging from child marriage to gender-based violence, yet they remain hopeful of returning to school. Policies must guarantee that hope,” she stressed.

Aguele explained that Malala fund, which had operated in Nigeria for a decade, supports 29 local organisations including the centre.

According to her, Nigeria accounts for over 22 million girls married under the age of 18 , the highest number in West and Central Africa, with many already mothers.

She warned that the education gap had long-term consequences for development, saying that children of unschooled mothers were less likely to go to school themselves.

“Education delays early marriage, improves health outcomes, boosts GDP and creates better choices for families.

” If we ignore these girls, we risk Nigeria’s development future,” she added.

Aguele also said the fund was working to promote gender-responsive budgeting in the education sector, stressing that policy-making must reflect the voices and realities of girls in their communities.

Habiba Mohammed, Executive Director of CGE, said the organisation had impacted more than 200,000 girls in Kaduna through its safe space programme since 2016.

She explained that safe spaces provide girls with life skills, vocational training, reproductive health education, nutrition, climate change awareness, and guidance on gender-based violence.

The programme also supports married adolescent girls, while working alongside their husbands, parents, religious leaders, and community stakeholders to ensure re-entry into school.

“We want every girl, including married adolescents, to have lifelong learning so that even after 12 years of schooling, they continue to grow,” she added.

During the visit, some girls who benefited from the safe space, commended CGE and Malala fund, saying they were now self-reliant and self aware .

Maimuna Muhammad, who is married, said joining the space helped her identify gender-based violence and how to respond to it, adding that she now knows how to take care of her self and her baby.

The visit was led by Malala fund co-founder, Mr Ziauddin Yousafzai, alongside Aguele, with board members and international colleagues to interact with safe space mentors and girls at Bizara and Dambo communities in Zaria.