Every girl deserves the chance to dream about who she wants to become, regardless of the circumstances she was born into. She deserves to go to school without wondering whether she will be allowed to finish, to make plans for her future without someone else deciding that marriage is her destination, and, above all, to simply enjoy being a child.
Yet, for millions of girls around the world, childhood is still being cut short by decisions they had no part in making. As we mark the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October 2026, under the theme “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights”, we are reminded that celebrating girls means little if we are unwilling to confront the realities that continue to limit their choices.
UNICEF estimates that approximately 640 million girls and women alive today were married during childhood. Behind every one of these numbers is a girl whose story could have been very different. A girl who may have wanted to become a doctor, a teacher, an entrepreneur or simply finish school and decide for herself what comes next. These should not be extraordinary aspirations. They should be possibilities available to every girl.
But child marriage does not happen in isolation. Poverty, unequal access to education, harmful social norms and weak protection systems all contribute to girls’ vulnerability. In some communities, marrying off a daughter while she is still a child has become so normalised that people no longer question it. It is simply how things have always been done.
I have heard parents speak proudly of promising an unborn daughter to a hardworking farmer should the baby be a girl. Sometimes, the man visits soon after her birth, treating a baby as a future wife rather than a child with a life of her own.
In another troubling account, a community ritual was reportedly performed when a girl was just three years old, binding her to a man for life. She was threatened with physical consequences if she ever resisted. It is difficult to imagine a child’s future being decided before she can even understand what marriage means. Yet, this is the reality some girls grow up with.
Their childhood becomes less about discovering who they are and more about preparing to become someone’s wife. For other families, poverty makes the situation even more complicated. When parents struggle to provide food, clothing and shelter, marrying off a daughter may seem like one less responsibility to carry. Education becomes a luxury, while early marriage is presented as a practical solution.
But a family’s financial hardship should never become a reason for a girl to lose her childhood or the opportunity to build a life of her own.
I have seen what this can cost. Girls supported through scholarships and community initiatives have had their education interrupted and their dreams put on hold. Some were reportedly lured home with false messages that a parent was ill, only to discover that the real reason for their return was their marriage.
Think about what that means: a girl leaves school believing she is going home to see a sick parent, only to find that decisions about the rest of her life have already been made.
The consequences do not end with the wedding. Girls may face adolescent pregnancy, health complications, domestic violence and mistreatment by in-laws. They lose the opportunity to learn, build friendships, discover their interests and make decisions about their own lives. What should have been years of growing, learning and exploring become years of responsibilities they were never ready for.
This is why ending child marriage requires more than telling families not to marry off their daughters. We must also ask what we are doing to make another path possible. Can a girl remain in school without her family worrying about the cost? Does she have someone she can turn to when she feels unsafe? Can she report abuse without fear? Are families getting the support they need to make choices that protect their children’s futures?
Investing in girls means making education accessible, strengthening protection systems, providing healthcare, mentorship and opportunities to develop skills. It also means supporting families facing financial hardship and ensuring that laws protecting children are not just written but enforced.
But there is another part of investing in girls that deserves more attention: listening to them.
Girls should not simply be the beneficiaries of programmes designed by adults. They should have a say in the decisions that affect their education, safety and future. We often talk about young people as leaders of tomorrow, but girls are already contributing today. They have ideas about what their communities need; they understand many of the challenges they face, and their experiences should help shape the solutions.
Of course, listening must go beyond giving girls a microphone or inviting them to consultations. When a girl says she feels unsafe at school, something should happen. When she reports abuse, she should be protected. When she expresses an ambition, there should be opportunities to help her pursue it. Her voice should count even when she is too young to confidently defend her own rights.
Ultimately, ending child marriage is about giving girls the chance to grow into the people they want to become. A girl may become a wife someday, but she must first be allowed to be a child. She may become a mother someday, but she deserves the opportunity to build herself, too.
Imagine if a girl promised marriage before birth instead grew up surrounded by people who promised to protect her, support her education and encourage her dreams. Imagine if the community that once expected her to become someone’s wife became the community that helped her discover her own potential.
This International Day of the Girl Child, perhaps we should ask ourselves a more important question than how we intend to celebrate girls: what are we willing to change so that they can enjoy the childhood, opportunities and choices they deserve?
Let us end child marriage. Let us invest in girls’ rights, protect their childhoods and, just as importantly, listen to what they have to say about the futures they want.
A girl is not a promise to be exchanged or a future bride waiting to be claimed. She is a child with dreams, rights and a future that should belong to her.
Opeyemi Igbayilola is a project coordinator, girl-child advocate, and safeguarding advocate with a passion for creating safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces for young people. She currently serves as the Programme Manager for Teens Can Code and the Gender and Safeguarding Coordinator for the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), Mastercard Foundation Nigeria Chapter, where she leads initiatives that promote safeguarding awareness, gender inclusion, and participant well-being. With experience in programme management, youth engagement, and project coordination, Opeyemi is committed to advancing equity, protecting the rights of young people, and fostering environments where everyone can learn, contribute, and thrive.
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