Idara Jerome, Uyo
Chief Executive Officer of VirValCher Nigeria Limited, Dr Idongesit Ashameri, has called for stricter enforcement of child protection laws and equal inheritance rights for girls, warning that child marriage, gender discrimination and harmful cultural practices continue to undermine the future of Nigerian girls.
Ashameri said parents and communities that force girls into early marriage or deny them access to family property must be held accountable, stressing that girls deserve the same protection, educational opportunities and economic security as boys.
She made the call during an interview with ADBN TV to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, observed on October 11, with the theme, “end child marriage and invest in girls’ rights”.
The media, public relations and marketing communications professional argued that the discussion on early marriage should focus not only on the factors pushing girls into it but also on the families and communities that impose the practice on children who are too young to make independent decisions.
“I don’t know if I would agree with you that the question should be what is pushing girls into early marriage. I think it should rather be what is pushing families to force their girl child into early marriage,” she said.
According to her, some families treat girls as investments from which they expect returns, rather than children whose rights and aspirations deserve protection.
She condemned the practice, describing it as unfortunate that some communities continue to subject girls to early marriage despite decades of advocacy against it.
Ashameri called on state governments and communities to enforce the Child Rights Act and ensure that parents and other persons who facilitate child marriages face prosecution.
She maintained that early marriage places responsibilities on children that they are neither physically nor emotionally prepared to handle, while also undermining their education and future opportunities.
“Marriage or raising a family is not for a child; it is for an adult,” she said, adding that a girl who is forced into marriage may struggle to continue her education and develop her potential.
The VirValCher chief executive stressed that girls and boys contribute equally to societal development and should therefore receive equal attention, resources and opportunities from their parents.
She urged parents to abandon discriminatory practices that prioritise boys’ education over girls’, noting that denying girls access to quality education limits their ability to contribute meaningfully to society.
On the situation in Akwa Ibom State, Ashameri expressed hope that child marriage was not widespread but said more deliberate public enlightenment was necessary to protect girls in vulnerable households and communities.
She commended the state government’s free and compulsory education policy, describing it as an opportunity for girls to access education without discrimination.
However, she called on the Akwa Ibom State Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission and other relevant institutions to intensify awareness campaigns, particularly among parents who deny girls educational opportunities or engage them in domestic work at the expense of schooling.
She also urged families employing school-age domestic workers to ensure that such children receive basic education rather than being confined to household duties.
Beyond early marriage and education, Ashameri drew attention to what she described as discriminatory inheritance practices in parts of Akwa Ibom State, where daughters are excluded from family property because of their gender or marital status.
She said some families deny daughters a share of their father’s estate or landed property on the grounds that they are married or expected to marry and relocate to their husbands’ homes.
Ashameri described the practice as unjust, insisting that daughters should not be denied their rights to family property simply because they are female.
“If you have five children, and then you have some who are girl children, you should make provision for them. You should ensure that however little your landed property may be, you also extend it to them,” she said.
She expressed particular concern over the treatment of widows whose children are all girls, explaining that some women risk losing homes and other property acquired during their marriages to their late husbands’ relatives.
According to her, widows and their daughters can be rendered homeless when adequate legal provisions have not been made to protect their interests and when the women lack the information or resources to defend their rights.
She called for stronger public awareness of women’s property rights and urged families to make appropriate legal arrangements to safeguard the interests of their wives and children.
Returning to the theme of investing in girls’ rights, Ashameri said genuine commitment must be reflected in how parents distribute family resources, including school fees, quality education, personal development opportunities and other forms of support.
Using a hypothetical family example, she said parents who send their sons to expensive schools while directing their daughters to less expensive alternatives because they expect them to perform domestic duties are already institutionalising inequality.
“Investing in a girl child means that you should give equal chances, equal opportunities, equal sacrifices, equal investment, equal amount of money, if not even more, on the girl child,” she said.
She urged parents not to withhold educational and financial support from daughters out of the belief that girls would eventually leave the family after marriage.
“The biggest investment, one of the investments with the highest return, is investment in a girl child,” Ashameri said.
She maintained that protecting girls requires more than public declarations in support of their rights, stressing that families, communities and government institutions must translate commitments into practical action that guarantees girls access to education, protection from harmful practices and equal opportunities to inherit family property.
Ashameri said a society that denies girls these rights risks depriving itself of the contributions they could make to its social and economic development.
