I grew up within the four walls of Maiduguri, Borno State, where the girl child faces countless struggles, many of which she cannot even share.
Welcome to Maiduguri, where the gender of the unborn child determines how eagerly society awaits their birth. In this city, I have observed that boys are valued far more than girls. It is heartbreaking that, for the average girl, the essentials that make childhood meaningful are often missing.
During my primary school years, there was a group of girls in my neighborhood, about my age, who went out every morning to hawk goods. On my way to school, with my fancy backpack, I see these little girls shouting, “Siya pure water!” I can’t help but wonder: Is this where there future ends?
Every evening, they would wait by our gate, hoping for leftovers from my meal. Their parents? Unbothered by the fact that their daughters wandered the streets of Maiduguri, exposed and vulnerable.
And as soon as these girls began to show even the slightest signs of physical maturity, they were married off, for a price. I was only in JSS 1 when I heard that they had all been given away in marriage.
For years, I have asked myself: How do these girls feel? How do these experiences shape their mindset?
For them, growing up meant hustling on the streets, until they were eventually married off.
I was recently shocked by a story I read on HumAngle Media about an 11-year-old girl who was forced into marriage, where she endured both physical and emotional abuse.
Despite numerous laws and public debate on this issue, it still lingers.
This made me think: “I have never heard of an underaged boy being married off”, at least, not as commonly as child marriage happens to girls. And these are just a few of the many untold stories of injustice that girls face.
So, I am left wondering…
Is a Northern Girl Any Less?
pen power 