The series of bombings, killings, kidnappings and armed robbery attacks; political and economic related assassinations has become a multi-hydra headed monster which security agents in Nigeria could not tackled properly. Due to these security challenges, numerous children particularly girls, currently have no access to basic schools in most parts of the North. Gender disparity continues to widen in basic schools because of insecurity. This paper examines the impact of insecurity threats on gender participation in basic schools in Northern Nigeria. In doing this, the paper explain the concept of gender, girl-child and insecurity in schools. Level of gender parity in basic education in Northern Nigeria, with girls being marginalized, was also examined. General insecurity issues in the North were highlighted. Insecurity challenges affecting mainly girls’ participation in basic schools in Northern Nigeria such as sexual abuse, assault and harassment; kidnapping; school distance; school boys’ and teachers’ threat; and girls’ unfriendly school environment were also highlighted. The paper went ahead to recommend that schools should be made at the doorsteps of female children and in a safe and secured environment. This could be done by building more girl schools particularly boarding to accommodate girls of secondary age. It was also recommended that all girls’ schools should have security outfit (with police, NSCDC, or at least trained vigilantes equipped with security gargets), trained security dogs, secured accommodation for teachers and students, and secured fences. This could encourage qualified females teachers to remain in class and allow parent of girls to release their daughters to school and thereby discouraging gender disparity. Keywords: Insecurity, Gender, Equality, Girl-Child,

Prior the incursion of Boko Haram insurgency into the social nerve of Nigeria, low level of literacy in the NorthEast geo-political zone of the country was pervasive and has always been a subject of concern to all stakeholders and the federal government. The Almajiris, a vernacular euphemism for child-beggars, were offered mobile schools. Besides, free and compulsory education were introduced to take school age children off the streets. Of major interest to activists and researcher is the issue of young girl education. The female children had been irresponsibly left behind when western education was introduced to the North. The young girl was neglected for religious, socioeconomic and cultural reasons. Expectations of wholistic benefits, therefore, became high when girls finally have opportunity to access Western education. However, Boko Haram insurgency became a clog in the wheel of progress when they began to kidnap girls and women, destroy school properties, and engaged in suicide bombings. The Chibok girls that were kidnapped from a government secondary school in Borno State was a classic case. This paper examines the implications of Boko Haram's operations and activities on education in the NorthEast especially on the fragile status of girl child education. Consideration was also given to the far-reaching effect of the insurgency on the economic lives of the affected children. It concludes with a call for government to embark on strategies that will end insurgency and give the young girl a new lease in life.

This report, co-authored by ODI and UNGEI, is the last report produced as a part of research project Building on good practice: advancing gender equality and girls' education.The report presents a rigorous review that complements existing literature on education in conflict-affected contexts by investigating various barriers and threats girls encounter in accessing education, and by shining a spotlight on practices that have supported girls' access to education in these contexts. The authors note promising approaches that can overcome or mitigate multiple threats, including leveraging community support for girl's education, financial and in-kind support to the families sending girls to schools, as well as alternative education and learning initiatives, among others

The study discussed the role of girl-child education on internal security and peace-building in North-eastern Nigeria specifically Gombe metropolis. The study examine the general perception of parent to girl-child education in Gombe L.G.A; factors hindering effective girl-child educational enrolment in Gombe L.G.A; socio-economic effect of gender inequality in educational opportunities in Gombe L.G.A and impact of girl-child education on internal security and peace-building in Gombe. The study adopted Relative Deprivation Theory and Feminist Theory. The study relied on both primary and secondary data. 202 structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents using simple random sampling techniques in the six selected schools in Gombe metropolis. Descriptive statistical technique was used to analyzed data collected from the questionnaires, while interpretive techniques was used to analyzed data collected from the oral in-depth interview. The result of the study revealed that girl-child educational enrollment and attainment in Gombe is low. The finding of the study revealed that poverty, traditional practice and religious belief, earl marriage and negative perception of the parents were the major factors affecting girl-child education in Gombe. The result of the study also revealed that unemployment, poverty, street hawking, prostitution, trafficking, drugs abuses, suicide bombing, and other social vices such as stealing were the major implication of poor girl-child education in Gombe. The study concludes that there is a significant relationship between girl-child education, internal security and peace-building. As long as grass does not grows in a busy area, so also internal security will not be achieve without given proper education to gild children, and there will be no peace without security. The study recommended that free and compulsory education, women empowerment, and sensitization by CSOs, traditional rulers and religions can enhance girl-child educational, internal security and peace building in Gombe.

The study discussed the role of girl-child education on internal security and peace-building in North-eastern Nigeria specifically Gombe metropolis. The study examine the general perception of parent to girl-child education in Gombe L.G.A; factors hindering effective girl-child educational enrolment in Gombe L.G.A; socio-economic effect of gender inequality in educational opportunities in Gombe L.G.A and impact of girl-child education on internal security and peace-building in Gombe. The study adopted Relative Deprivation Theory and Feminist Theory. The study relied on both primary and secondary data. 202 structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents using simple random sampling techniques in the six selected schools in Gombe metropolis. Descriptive statistical technique was used to analyzed data collected from the questionnaires, while interpretive techniques was used to analyzed data collected from the oral in-depth interview. The result of the study revealed that girl-child educational enrollment and attainment in Gombe is low. The finding of the study revealed that poverty, traditional practice and religious belief, earl marriage and negative perception of the parents were the major factors affecting girl-child education in Gombe. The result of the study also revealed that unemployment, poverty, street hawking, prostitution, trafficking, drugs abuses, suicide bombing, and other social vices such as stealing were the major implication of poor girl-child education in Gombe. The study concludes that there is a significant relationship between girl-child education, internal security and peace-building. As long as grass does not grows in a busy area, so also internal security will not be achieve without given proper education to gild children, and there will be no peace without security. The study recommended that free and compulsory education, women empowerment, and sensitization by CSOs, traditional rulers and religions can enhance girl-child educational, internal security and peace building in Gombe.

This report contains a situation analysis of girls’ education in Iraq and recommendations for improving girls’ access to good quality schooling. The situation analysis is based on enrolment data provided by the Ministry of Education in Iraq, a range of currently available reports and other documentation, and on the responses of 80 Iraqi girls to a questionnaire relating to their own experiences of school and their views on girls’ education. The picture is incomplete because no data on girls’ attendance or success rates are available and these are crucial to a full situational analysis. In Iraq the overall number of children receiving primary education has declined between 2004-05 and 2007-08 by 88,164, with no improvement in the percentage of girls enrolled. Gross enrolment figures provided for the academic year 2005 – 2005 show 5,163,440 children enrolled in primary education. Girls account for 44.74% of students. Figures for 2007-2008 show 5,065,276 children enrolled in primary education, with 44.8 % being girls. This means that for every 100 boys enrolled in primary schools in Iraq, there are just under 89 girls. This under representation of girls in primary school in Iraq has been known for many years. The fact that there are declining numbers of girls in each successive grade has also been identified analyses of the data. Analysis of the 2007 -2008 data shows the same picture. In every governorate a smaller percentage of girls than boys start school. There are no governorates where the number of children completing primary education is acceptable, and it is even less acceptable for girls. The current data replicate previously available data in showing a generally declining percentage of girls in each successive primary school grade. Some 75% of girls who start school have dropped out during, or at the end of, primary school and so do not go on to intermediate education. Many of them will have dropped out after grade 1. When all governorates’ figures are combined, there are 21.66% fewer girls in grade 2 than in grade 1. Similarly there is a 28.63% national drop in the number of girls between grades 5 and 6. By the first intermediate class, only 25% the number of girls in grade 1 are in school; by the third intermediate class the figure is 20%. The percentage of girls in primary school classes in highest in Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniya. These three governorates also have the highest percentage of children in pre-school education. In Erbil 15.8% of children attend preschool provision, Dohuk 11.3% and Sulaimaniya 11.4% compared with, for example 5.7% in Baghdad, 8.6% in Kirkuk, or 3.3% in Diyala. There is also a major issue with the number of children in each grade who are over age. The difference between gross and net enrolment data for 2007-08 shows that 659,896 children are above the age for the grade that they are in. This represents 13% of all primary school children - more than one in every ten. Of those children, 228,829 children were still attending primary school when they were aged 13 – 15+. The net enrolment rate for girls 45.8%, as against a gross enrolment rate of 44.8%. This shows a significantly greater number of overage boys than girls. For example, only one third of teenagers still in primary schools were girls. 5 In order to increase girls’ participation in education, it is vital to gain an insight into why they never attend school or drop out before completing their basic education. A small scale survey of 80 Iraqi girls was therefore included in this piece of work. While this is not a large or statistically valid sample, their responses provide a clear insight into many of the reasons why girls do not go to school. As would be expected, parents, particularly fathers, play a major role in whether the girls can attend school or not. The girls refer to a range of reasons why families do not support girls attending school. These include concerns about safety, family poverty, a reluctance to allow adolescent girls to continue to attend school, the distance from home to school, early marriage and the need to help at home. The journey to and from school presents problems caused by fast traffic, dogs or boys. Girls are frequently demotivated by the behaviour of teachers who beat them, distress them and are unwilling to explain subject matter that a student does not understand. Their answers make frequent references to being beaten or insulted by teachers, and to teachers being unwilling to give explanations in lessons or support students in their learning. The girls describe their schools are unwelcoming and unpleasant with too few facilities and resources. Schools are described as dirty, poorly maintained and uncomfortable, with dirty lavatories and no drinking water available. Safety is an issue, particularly in areas of major instability and insecurity. The concerns about safety relate to both military conflict and civil crime such as abduction and rape.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the strategic initiatives for access, participation and performance of girl child education in Togdher, Somalia. Five research questions were formulated to guide the study. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. The sample was therefore 66 teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaires for the head teachers, deputy teachers and senior teachers. Findings revealed that influence of the variables that affected the performance of the girl child in Togdher region of Somaliland which included; community mobilization and awareness in the implementation of the policies because it has to auger well with norms and the cultural practices in the area, conflict and fragility has adverse effect on the girl child education, with existence of the facilities, the girl child education is improving. The findings also revealed that staffing levels was another challenge faced by head teachers in promoting girl child education. The findings also revealed that lack of physical facilities was a factor that influenced access to girls’ education. Findings also revealed that lack of female teachers affected girl’s education. Girls therefore did not have role models; they did not have teachers to go for in matters that were particular to them. Based on the findings of the study it was recommended that there is need for the government through the teachers service commission (TSC) to post more female teachers to the area to act as role models for the girls. There is need for the government through the CDF and NGOs to give more bursaries for the girls in the area to encourage them. Taking into consideration the limitations and delimitations of the study suggested that an investigation on the influence of gender policy on girls’ participation in schools should be conducted. The other important support that should be provided by the government and the Non-Governmental Organizations are the rescue centres in the schools that are located deep in the interior. Rescue centres would go a long way in providing a learning environment, where the girl is not threatened by the cultural practices leading to drop out from school. Therefore, the head teachers should be actively involved in sourcing the assistance for the poor girls who cannot afford school fees. In the same breathe, enough learning facilities and physical structures such as teachers staff houses, should be provided. It was also suggested that a study on an investigation in the impact of CDF in enhancing girls’ participation in schools should be conducted. There is also need to conduct a study on the effects of boarding schools on girls’ participation in secondary schools in the district.