By Raquel Kasham Daniel

Every year, on October 11, we celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child. We see conversations, campaigns and hashtags calling for an end to child marriage. And rightly so. Child marriage is a serious violation of girls’ rights, and we must continue to challenge the practices and systems that allow it to happen.

But I sometimes wonder whether we have reduced the fight against child marriage to hashtags and awareness campaigns, without paying enough attention to what we are doing to change the circumstances of the girls whose lives we are trying to protect.

Beyond calling for child marriage to end, are we investing in girls’ leadership? Are we helping them understand their rights, develop confidence, discover their abilities and acquire the skills they need to participate meaningfully in decisions about their lives? Are we creating opportunities for them to lead, speak up and imagine futures beyond the limitations society has placed on them?

I believe we need to do more.

This year’s International Day of the Girl Child theme, “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights,” offers an opportunity to reflect on what meaningful investment in girls actually looks like.

Ending child marriage requires more than telling people that it must stop. It also requires us to invest in girls, not just as children who need protection, but as individuals with voices, abilities, ambitions and the capacity to shape their own futures.

Child marriage robs girls of their childhood, limits their opportunities and can have lifelong consequences for their health, education and well-being. It is a problem we must continue to confront. However, changing practices deeply rooted in social and cultural norms requires sustained effort, effective laws, shifts in attitudes and systems that protect girls.

While we continue to challenge these practices, we must also ask what we are doing to equip girls with the knowledge, confidence and opportunities to make informed decisions about their futures.

When I talk about investing in girls, I am not talking about money alone, although financial investment is important. I am talking about investing in their education, leadership, knowledge of their rights, confidence, safety and opportunities. I am talking about creating environments where girls can discover their strengths, develop their abilities and understand that their voices matter.

Child marriage is only one of the many odds working against the girl child. For millions of girls in Nigeria, the odds are not exactly in their favour. Some are out of school because their families cannot afford to keep them there. Some experience abuse or teenage pregnancy, while others face pressure to marry before they are ready. Many live in communities where their opportunities are limited simply because they are girls.

There are girls who have to fight to go to school, girls who have to fight to stay in school, and girls who struggle to be heard in their own homes. Some have dreams that are considered less important than those of their brothers. Others have never been encouraged to imagine a future beyond what society expects of them.

Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if we paid as much attention to removing these barriers as we do to telling girls to overcome them.

According to UNICEF, more than 23 million Nigerian women and girls were married during childhood. The 2024 Demographic and Health Survey also found that about 33.4 per cent of women aged 20–24 had been married before the age of 18. Behind these numbers are girls whose childhoods may have ended too soon, whose education may have been interrupted and whose decisions about their lives may have been made for them.

We must do everything we can to end child marriage. But alongside advocacy and awareness, we must invest in girls’ ability to recognise their rights, speak up when those rights are threatened, seek support and participate in decisions that affect them.

Consider a girl who has access to quality education, understands her rights, knows where to seek help and has people who encourage her ambitions. Imagine that she also has opportunities to develop leadership skills, build relationships with mentors, acquire practical skills and contribute to decisions in her school and community. She is better positioned to recognise her potential and see possibilities beyond the limitations around her.

Of course, an educated or confident girl can still be forced into marriage. Knowledge alone cannot overcome poverty, coercion or harmful community practices. We must never place the responsibility for ending child marriage on girls themselves. Adults, governments, communities and institutions remain responsible for protecting their rights. But investing in girls can expand their choices, strengthen their voices and help them access support when their rights are threatened.

Investing in girls should not be treated as an act of charity. It is a responsibility. Governments must invest in education and child protection. Parents must recognise that their daughters’ futures matter just as much as their sons’. Traditional and religious leaders must help challenge harmful practices. Schools and communities must create environments where girls can learn, feel safe, develop their abilities and take on leadership roles.

We must also listen to girls themselves. Sometimes, adults spend so much time talking about what girls need that we forget to ask them what they think, what they want and what they are experiencing. Girls must have a meaningful place in decisions and solutions that affect their lives.

As we mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, I hope we can move beyond simply calling for child marriage to end and begin asking harder questions about our commitment to girls. Are we giving them the education they deserve? Are we investing in their leadership? Are we creating opportunities for them to develop their abilities and participate in decision-making? Are we building systems that protect their rights and give them room to thrive?

Hashtags and awareness campaigns can help start conversations, but conversations alone will not change the odds against girls. We must be willing to translate our advocacy into meaningful investment, stronger protection systems and real opportunities.

When we invest in girls’ rights, education, leadership and potential, we do more than work towards ending child marriage. We help create a society where girls can understand their rights, pursue their ambitions, make informed choices and shape their own futures. It is time to move beyond saying we want to protect girls and demonstrate that commitment through what we are willing to invest in them.