INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AFRICAN WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION (AWLA)

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD, 2026

THEME: “END CHILD MARRIAGE AND INVEST IN GIRLS’ RIGHTS”

 

Dear Girl Child,

Today, I celebrate you, your brilliance, your resilience, and your boundless potential. You are not just the future; you are the present.

This year’s global theme, “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights”, is a direct call to action. It says, “Stop trading a girl’s childhood for marriage, and start investing in her rights to education, health, protection, and choice.”

THE REALITY – WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY:

Globally, over 650 million girls and women alive today were married before age 18, with 12 million girls married annually – one every 3 seconds. 1 in 5 girls globally is married before 18, with Sub-Saharan Africa at 31%, the highest globally.

• Nigeria: 1 in 3 girls; 33.4% of women aged 20-24 were married before 18, and nearly 1 in 2 in the Northeast and Northwest. Over 7.6 million girls are out of school.
• Ghana: *1 in 5 girls (21%) is married before 18, with 36.2% in rural areas vs 19.4% in urban and 34% (1 in 3) in the three Northern Regions. Recent data shows a decline to 16-19%, but still 2.5 million child brides live in Ghana today.
• Kenya: National prevalence has reduced to about 23% but remains high in pastoralist counties like Tana River (43%). 3.9 million Kenyan girls are child brides.
• South Africa: 4% marry before 18, 1% before 15, and is home to over 1.6 million child brides. Practices like _ukuthwala_ still exist, and girls 15-19 are twice as likely as boys to be out of school and work. 69710719

Behind each statistic is a girl whose education is interrupted, whose health is endangered, and whose future is stolen.

OUR SOLUTIONS, WHAT MUST BE DONE:

As women lawyers, we proffer concrete solutions:

1. Legal Reform and Enforcement: Full domestication and enforcement of the Child Rights Act, closing loopholes allowing marriage under 18 with parental consent, and establishing Child-Friendly Courts and Special Courts for child marriage.
2. Invest in Education as Protection: Free, safe, compulsory secondary education for girls to age 18. Every year of secondary school reduces child marriage risk by 6%.
3. Economic Empowerment: Social protection for poor households, scholarships, and conditional cash transfers to keep girls in school.
4. Community Engagement: Partner with Traditional Rulers, Faith-Based Leaders, and the National House of Chiefs to publicly declare abandonment of child marriage.
5. Data and Accountability: Birth registration for all children and functional sex offender registers.

MY CALL TO POLITICAL ACTOR:

I invite firm commitment from:

• The federal and state governments of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa and all African countries and diaspora nations
• Members of Parliament and State Houses of Assembly
• Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, and Community Gatekeepers
• Ministries of Women Affairs, Education, and Justice

Commit today to end child marriage by 2030 by increasing budgetary allocation to girls’ education to at least 15%, enforcing the 18-year minimum marriage age without exception, and investing in girls’ rights.

MY WORD TO YOU, Dear Girls:

Be bold, confident, and courageous.

Be Focused, Disciplined, and Character-Conscious.

Equip yourself with great skills, digital skills, and financial literacy.

Get a mentor in your field of preference—law, medicine, tech, business, leadership, et al.—and go through grooming, training, and learning.

Your future is not for sale. Your dream is valid.

And to help you stay in school, AWLA is offering scholarships and mentorship to indigent girl children in Nigeria and other African countries to support their education and keep them away from early marriage.

A CALL TO CORPORATE NIGERIAN, AFRICAN, AND INDUSTRY LEADERS TO PARTNER WITH US:

We cannot do this alone. I therefore make a passionate call to corporate entities, industries, banks, oil & gas companies, tech firms, manufacturing companies, and well-meaning individuals to partner with AWLA in sponsoring the education of the Girl Child.

Sponsor a girl today, and you secure a future CEO, lawyer/judge, doctor, engineer, president, governor, et al., tomorrow. Your CSR can change a generation. Let us partner to fund scholarships, provide school kits, digital devices, and mentorship. Together, we will end child marriage.

For enquiries and nominations, please contact us via https://awla.international.

AWLA IS POISED TO END INDIGNITY TO THE GIRL CHILD!

I hope to see you at the top soon!

Happy International Day of the Girl Child!

 

Mandy Demechi-Asagba, Esq.

President,

African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA)

11/10/2026