By Kehinde Akintola

Copyright tribuneonlineng

…hints on legislative interventions on child labour, child marriage, others

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, on Thursday called for drastic measures against child labour, sexual harassment, gender inequality, forced marriage, and other issues negatively affecting Nigerian girls and women.

Hon. Tajudeen made the call in Abuja while hosting young female Nigerians in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child, themed “Girls’ Chat with the Speaker.”

He assured young Nigerians, especially females, of legislative interventions aimed at making life easier, safer, and better for them.

While October 11 is designated as the International Day of the Girl Child, the theme for the 2025 edition is “The girl I am, the change I lead: Girls on the frontlines of crisis.”

The Speaker, who consistently dedicates time and resources to gender advocacy, held an interactive session with schoolgirls drawn from across the country, representing public and private secondary and tertiary institutions.

The girls, selected through an online poll conducted by the Office of the Speaker in collaboration with the advocacy group Gender Mobile Initiative, asked Speaker Tajudeen several questions concerning issues affecting young and female Nigerians.

While noting that child marriage is on a downward trend due to public enlightenment and advocacy, the Speaker expressed concern that cases of child labour remain widespread.

He said: “My major concern is girl and child labour which is still endemic in this country. A lot of girls, instead of going to school, are being sent to work in the house of the rich and those who are doing well. This is an area where the National Assembly – the government – must pay extra attention.

“We need to ensure that no girl under a certain age is allowed to be seen working as domestic staff in the houses of the well-to-do families. Those children, by implication, are being denied access to education. Not many of those families that are engaging them are allowing them to school at the same time.

“A significant number of girls are not allowed to go to school because of that and we need to come up with legislation for stronger laws that will significantly diminish this menace. This is one area of concern.”

Speaker Tajudeen, who described the event as “indeed another day of history,” noted that girls in Nigeria are performing better academically than boys.

He said: “It is very gladdening to say what I see today, particularly from the academic point of view, girls generally in Nigeria are doing a bit better than their counterparts – boys. I see the results from senior secondary schools; I see results from tertiary institutions; I see results from even primary schools, where almost every school you go to, you will find out that the girls are at the top. That is a very promising signal that the initiatives started in 2011 have started bearing fruit.

“We believe there are so many areas to cover, but for me, it is a good beginning. I congratulate you girls for the good performances that you have give,n particularly in the academic sector.”

However, Tajudeen noted that challenges still persist, particularly in rural areas, “where girls up till now are not given their rights,s particularly access to education.”

“I believe that with the current efforts being made by the National Assembly as well as the Executive (arm of the government) under the Ministry of Women Affairs, so much will be achieved within the next two years with this administration,” he added.

Responding to various questions, the Speaker said the National Assembly, particularly the House of Representatives, “is doing so much in changing the narratives, especially on women’s participation in parliament,” adding that the House is considering a bill to reserve seats for women and Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs).

“The course that we have taken is ensuring that we have more representation of women in parliament because that is where laws are enacted. Once we have more women (in parliament), they will have more say in terms of women’s and girls’ interests. The first and the most significant is to have as many women as possible in the parliament,” he said.

Speaking on sexual harassment in schools, Speaker Tajudeen stated: “As a teacher, I am privileged to know so much about this endemic abuse. Having been a teacher at the primary school level and at tertiary institutions, I know the extent of the problem we are encountering in that regard. And we are doing the best we can. The major issue is resources to actually get the Acts implemented.

“All we need in this country is to set good examples. Once we are able to set good examples of one or two of those culprits, I’m sure others with such tendencies will begin to review their actions.

“We will support this initiative of taking the campaign to all the nooks and crannies of the country; to all our tertiary institutions that enough is enough on the issue of sexual harassment of female students particularly by lecturers and other leaders of the institutions. We will not take it anymore. We will do everything possible to ensure that we put a permanent stop to it.”

Earlier, the Executive Lead of Gender Mobile Initiative, Omowumi Ogunrotimi, said the 10 girls present “represent girls across Nigeria.” She added that there are “millions of girls who are not able to be in this room today and we hope that their questions will represent both the struggles and the aspirations of the millions of girls.”

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During the session, Sophia Ofure Onojetah inquired about gender equality in politics and governance, specifically the representation of women in parliament.

Tioluwani Faparusi inquired about efforts by the government to curb sexual harassment in schools, especially the Sexual Offences Bill, while Sabiya Aminu Suleiman raised concerns about child marriage and paedophilic crimes.

Other questions touched on the enforcement of the Child’s Rights Act at subnational levels, the welfare of children in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, and safety in schools following past abductions of students in Chibok and Dapchi.

Speaker Tajudeen, who addressed all the questions, explained that most of the responsibilities lie with the Executive arm of government, which is tasked with enforcing laws.

He, however, reaffirmed that the House will continue to enact laws to protect the rights of all Nigerians — men and women, young and old.

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