Author: OLAYINKA FAGBEMIRO
Affiliation: NATIONAL SPACE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NASRDA)/ ASTRONOMERS WITHOUT BORDERS (AWB) NIGERIA
Country: NIGERIA
Title: Astronomy as a tool for Gender Equality and Empowerment: The AWB Nigeria Success Story
Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) Nigeria has been able to use Astronomy as a tool
for gender equality and empowerment in STEM in the northern part of Nigeria. The
various ways a team of young Astronomers who are members of AWB in Nigeria are
trying to encourage the female children to aspire to STEM just as much as their male
counterparts and also to encourage parents to enroll their female children and also
aspire for them to be great scientists in the nearest future just like many of the female
members of the team.
The northern Nigeria has the country’s worst girl child education, highest female
illiteracy, highest adolescent girl marriage, highest under 15 child bearing, and highest
risk of maternal death and injury. The report is published by Africa Health, Human and
Social Development Information Service (Afri-Dev. Info), in partnership with African
Coalition on Maternal Newborn and Child Health, and Pan African Campaign Against
Forced Marriage of Under Age Children. The scorecards underline the links between
poor educational attainment for girls, forced marriage of underage children, and under
age child bearing.
The inequality that exists between the male and female involvement in STEM, which is
an extension of the issues associated with girl-child education in the rural parts of
northern Nigeria. The gender apartheid places the girl-child in a disadvantaged position,
where her potentials are suppressed and self-actualization is not achieved. The girl
therefore, becomes a victim of a pre-existing socio-cultural male exaggerated
superiority. Furthermore, on the account of gender, girl-children are subjected to all
multiple forms of oppression, exploitation and discrimination. Girl-child education has
then become a major issue of concern in most developing countries of the world today,
especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where a large number of young girls do not attend
school. According to UNICEF (2017), the global figure for out-of-school children is
estimated to be 262 million, out of which 141 million (approximately 53.8%) were girls
and over 80 percent of these girls live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Here is the video link to the first Astronomy Girls’ Camp summary :
References
[1]: UNICEF (2017)
[2]: Afri-Dev. Info