The International Day of the Girl Child is an important reminder of our collective responsibility to protect the rights, dignity and future of every girl. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the distance between the rights guaranteed by law and the protection girls actually receive. For too many girls, child marriage, barriers to education and harmful practices continue to limit their choices and deny them the opportunity to realise their full potential.
We must recognise that the protection of the girl child is not merely a social concern. It is a matter of rights, justice and the rule of law. Nigeria has laws designed to protect children, including the Child Rights Act, but a law that does not reach the child it was enacted to protect cannot fulfil its purpose. We must therefore strengthen implementation, pursue the domestication of the Act in every state and ensure that access to justice does not depend on a family’s ability to pay.
The Nigerian Bar Association remains committed to advancing these protections and working with relevant institutions to close the gap between what the law promises and what girls experience. This responsibility, however, extends beyond the legal profession. Government must strengthen child-protection institutions; communities must reject harmful practices, regardless of how deeply entrenched they may be; and every one of us must be prepared to speak up, report abuse and refuse to look away.
Every girl deserves the time to grow, the protection of the law and the opportunity to become all she is capable of becoming. Protecting her is not an act of charity; it is a responsibility we owe to her and to the future of our nation. On this day, we must renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of every girl are not merely recognised in law, but protected in practice.
Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, FCIArb
President, Nigerian Bar Association
