Malala Fund says Kaduna must strengthen education intervention for married girls

Malala Fund says Kaduna must strengthen its school re-entry policy for married girls and adolescent mothers.

Nabila Aguele, chief executive of the fund in Nigeria, visited the Centre for Girls Education (CGE) in Zaria.

The visit followed the fund’s first-ever global board meeting held in Nigeria to engage directly with grassroots partners.

Aguele said the fund met with adolescent mothers who have faced challenges ranging from child marriage to gender-based violence.

She said some of the girls hope to return to school, and an education intervention must guarantee that hope.

“Policies must guarantee that hope,” the chief executive noted.

Aguele explained that the Malala Fund, which had operated in Nigeria for a decade, supports 29 local organisations, including the centre.

She said Nigeria accounts for over 22 million girls married under the age of 18, the highest number in West and Central Africa, with many already mothers.

She warned that the education gap had long-term consequences for development, saying children of unschooled mothers were less likely to go to school themselves.

“Education delays early marriage, improves health outcomes, boosts GDP and creates better choices for families. If we ignore these girls, we risk Nigeria’s development future,” she added.

Aguele also said the fund is working to promote gender-responsive budgeting in the education sector, stressing that policy-making must reflect the voices and realities of girls in their communities.

Habiba Mohammed, executive director of CGE, said the organisation had impacted more than 200,000 girls in Kaduna through its safe space programme since 2016.

She explained that safe spaces provide girls with life skills, vocational training, reproductive health education, nutrition, climate change awareness, and guidance on gender-based violence.

The programme also supports married adolescent girls, while working alongside their husbands, parents, religious leaders, and community stakeholders to ensure re-entry into school.

“We want every girl, including married adolescents, to have lifelong learning so that even after 12 years of schooling, they continue to grow,” Mohammed said.

The visit was led by Malala fund co-founder Ziauddin Yousafzai, alongside Aguele, with board members and international colleagues to interact with safe space mentors and girls at Bizara and Dambo communities in Zaria.