On Friday morning, suspected terrorists attacked three female hostels at the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria, abducting about 24 students. According to Premium Times, witnesses reported that the numbers could be more. 

The police spokesperson, Yazeed Abubakar, confirmed the abduction but could not provide an accurate count of the abducted students.

Fortunately, soldiers from the 1 Brigade Nigerian Army in Gusau were able to rescue six of the abducted students. The attack began around 3 a.m. in the Sabon Gida area, where the terrorists fired shots and conducted house-to-house searches for the students.

During the operation, the terrorists also blocked the Gusau-Funtua highway, and additional militants were stationed near the university’s main gate. 

The university’s host community, Sabon Gida, has been grappling with security challenges, leading to several instances of student abductions.

A previous report from Premium Times highlighted the university management’s dismissal of some students who had protested against the prevailing insecurity in the area.

Conflict and crisis rank among the top threats to the education of girls and women in Nigeria, widening the gender gap in education locally and globally. 

Among other systemic barriers, events such as the raid in Gusau contribute to the poor rating of Nigeria globally in terms of the female-to-male ratio of students in its tertiary institutions.

Nigeria ranks 112th of 128 countries in the world in female to male ratio of students in tertiary institutions, with a female:male ratio of 72:100. This situates the country among the 17 worst female:male gender gap in tertiary education in the world. 

The female to male ratio of students in secondary schools is higher, at 95:100, and Nigeria ranks better at 104th among 124 countries, 20 places from the lowest-ranked country.

Around the world, “there are three times as many attacks on girls’ schools than boys’ schools. When schools are ambushed, children run the risk of death or injury, infrastructure is destroyed, and education systems are weakened long-term. Without education, girls lack the skills they need to cope with the crisis and help rebuild their communities.

“An estimated 39 million girls and adolescent girls in countries affected by armed conflict or natural disasters lack access to quality education. Refugee girls are half as likely to be in school as refugee boys,” the Global Citizen reported.

Global Gaps and Gains in Education

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, Sub-Saharan Africa ranks lowest globally on the ‘Educational Attainment sub-index’, with an enduring gender gap of 85.3%.

“While the region registered a marginal improvement of 0.9 percentage points on the subindex score, there are persistent barriers that are keeping the region from achieving parity.”

These systemic barriers, according to the Global Citizen, include:

Cost: Poverty is a significant barrier to girls’ education. Even in areas with no school fees, costs for transportation, textbooks, and uniforms can be prohibitive. Families may prioritize boys’ education over girls, and girls can be forced into child marriages due to economic hardship.

Child Marriage: Child marriage, prevalent in developing countries, deprives girls of education. Early marriage leads to early pregnancies, malnourishment, and domestic violence, hindering girls’ educational opportunities. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have high rates of child marriage.

There are about 700 million women around the world who were married as girls, UNICEF reported in 2017. In sub-Saharan Africa, 4 in 10 girls are married under the age of 18, and South Asia, where about 30% of girls under 18 are married, has the highest levels of child marriage, according to UNICEF.

Menstruation: Stigma around menstruation can lead girls to skip school due to embarrassment. Lack of access to sanitary products, clean water, and safe facilities further disrupts their education. In some cases, schools lack separate bathrooms, making girls vulnerable to harassment.

Household Chores: Girls often bear the burden of unpaid household chores, limiting their time for education. This can result in low self-esteem and disinterest in schooling. In some regions, girls spend significantly more time on chores than boys.

Around the world, girls spend 40% more time performing unpaid chores — including cooking, cleaning, and collecting water and firewood — than boys. Some of these chores put girls in danger of encountering sexual violence.

In Burkina Faso, Yemen, and Somalia, girls between 10 and 14 years old bear the most disproportionate burden of household chores compared to boys. In Somalia, girls spend the most amount of time on chores in the world, averaging 26 hours every week.

Gender-Based Violence: Physical and sexual abuse, harassment, and bullying deter girls from attending school. This violence affects their enrollment, participation, and achievements, leading to higher absenteeism and dropout rates. Long, unsafe commutes to school are also a concern.

Trafficking: Increasing numbers of girls are trafficked, often for forced labour, marriage, or sexual exploitation. “Of all the trafficking victims reported globally in 2016, 23% are girls, compared to 7% of whom are boys,” the Global Citizen reported. 

Trafficking exposes women to physical and sexual violence and mental health issues, trapping them in cycles of poverty and slavery that stop them from receiving an education.. Conflict-affected regions in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are particularly vulnerable to trafficking.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2022 further notes that in Sub-Saharan Africa, only 23 of 36 countries have closed at least 97% of their gender gap in primary education. The level of parity drops to 17 countries (out of 36), having closed at least 95% of their gender gap in secondary education enrolment. 

Nigeria: Ratio of female to male students in secondary school

Source: Global Economy; UNESCO

“At the same time, relatively populated countries show important improvements in scores. For example, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Tanzania have improved parity in tertiary education.” 

However, previous data from UNESCO shows that, as of 2018, the ratio of females to males in tertiary institutions in Nigeria was on the decline.

Nigeria: Ratio of female to male students in Tertiary Institutions

Source: Global Economy; UNESCO

Guangzhou

In Guangzhou, China, the link between violence and conflict situations, menstruation, and women’s education opportunities takes a different twist. 

According to CNN, “Two Chinese activists held without trial for the past two years are expected to appear before a judge in a closed doors hearing on Friday as the ruling Communist Party ramps up its effort to dismantle what remains of the country’s civil society.”

Independent journalist and #MeToo activist Huang Xueqin and labor rights activist Wang Jianbing were detained by authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou in September 2021, the cable news network said.