THE RIGHT OF A NIGERIAN GIRL CHILD TO LIFE
1.0 ABSTRACT
This paper
examines issues regarding the well being of a Nigerian girl child. It is an
appraisal of how to challenge the status-quo relating to life threats and challenges
faced by female children in Nigeria which varies from Pregnancy, Child
maintenance and Adult hood. It also delves into an overview of international
treaties (which Nigeria is a party to),
municipal laws relating to a child’s right to life, and their applicability in
Nigerian State.
2.0 THE TERM: “RIGHT TO LIFE”
The Right to
Life is an inalienable right that encompasses other fundamental rights. It
includes every activity an individual has a just claim to, which ensures his
continuous existence on our planet earth.
In
furtherance to explaining this term “right to life”, Article 4, of the African Charter
on human and people right[1]
provides thus; “human beings are
inviolable, every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the
integrity of his person. No one may arbitrarily be deprived of his right”. “Human
being” as used here, proves that there is no age classification as such
even the foetus in the womb of a pregnant woman, has a right to live. A foetus
is considered to be living when it’s about 24-28 weeks of development. Jane Roe v. Henry[2],
therefore, the removal of a foetus from the uterus after 24 weeks amounts to an
infringement on the right of that foetus to life. The law criminalizes this as
provided for in section 228 of the criminal code[3]
(applicable in the Southern Part of
Nigeria) and also regards an attempt to procure abortion a felony, unless
done to save the life of the mother. To
buttress this, Section 232- 236 of the Penal Code (applicable in the Northern part of Nigeria) clearly makes aborting
or aiding miscarriage of the foetus a punishable offence. Also, Section 17(10) of the Child right Act[4] protects
an unborn child and gives room for claiming damages against a person, for harm
or injury caused to the child willfully, recklessly, negatively or through
neglect before during or after the birth of that child, C.O.P v. Modebe[5].
A detailed study of the above statutory and judicial authorities supports
the claim that a child’s right to survival commences even before his birth
because terminating pregnancy amounts to interference with right to life.
Article 5(3)
of the Charter on the Rights and Welfare of a Child[6], defines a child as one below the age of 18, as
such a child cannot be deprived of his right to life irrespective of the crime
committed. Section 33 (1) of the 1999 constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria
states that “every person has a right to life and no one shall be deprived
intentionally of his rights, save in execution of the sentence of a court in
respect of offence which he has been found guilty in Nigeria". Esabunor
v. Faweya[7]
Exception to
children: In R. v. Bangaza[8]
the Federal Supreme Court
interpreted section 319 (2) of the Criminal Code[9]: “
where an offender who in the opinion of the court has not attained the age of
17 years and has been found guilty of murder, such offender shall not be sentenced
to death, but shall be detained” The relevant
age in this case was stated to be the age at the time of conviction and not the
age at the time of commission of the offence, because a person is deemed innocent
until proven guilty section 36(5) of the 1999contitution of FRN as amended. Since
the constitution is the grundnorm, it
therefore signifies that the Federation of Nigeria acknowledges the right to
life of every person irrespective of their age, background and sex.
Also, the
right to life does not only mean being alive, it entails every other aids and
ancillary to being alive and as such includes all fundamental human rights such
as Right to Education, Adequate standard of living, Freedom of movement, Job
and Employment equality, Fair heating, survival development. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights [10]
states that “everyone has a right to life, liberty and security of
person”. Furthermore, Article 25 of the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights states that
(1) Everyone has
the right to a standard of living, adequate for the health and well being
of himself and his family including food, clothing, housing and medical care.
(2) All children
born in or out of wed lock shall enjoy the same social protection.
There is therefore
a conspicuous societal violation of children’s right to life which goes to the
root of their existence, as children are seen daily on the streets wearing
tattered clothes, children living in the slums, children living under the
bridges and dump sites. A cursory gaze into the charters and declarations on
peoples/child’s right, shows striking resemblances in their provisions. Therefore,
it’s my scholarly opinion that law should not just be made, but enforced to the
letter.
3.0 GENDER EQUALITY
With regards
to sex, it is undisputable that in this part of the world, females are
discriminated against and marginalized.
Discrimination
according to 9th Edition Black law dictionary is; “unfair treatment or
denial of normal privileges to persons because of their race, sex, age,
nationality or religion, emphasis on SEX".
The Convention
on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination Against Women[11]
states that discrimination against
women is “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex
which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise by women irrespective of their marital status on a basis
of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
political economic, social, cultural, civil or any other fields.”
Furthermore,
economic, cultural and social life which are rights classified as second
generations of rights contained in Article 2, 3, 4, 6, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, and
27 of the international Convection on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
[ICESCR] [12]
enumerates provisions which are concerned with equality
and nondiscrimination of individuals.
Article 2 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Right
guarantees that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom in the
declaration without distinction of any kind such as colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, natural or social origin, property, birth
or other status. In pari material, is
Article
26 of the International Covenant on Civil Political Right (I.C.C.P.R) and
Rule 6 (1) of the S.M.R (standard minimum rules)
Section 10
of the Child Rights Act, protects a
child from discrimination by reason of his sex, religion community, etc. nor
deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth. Legally therefore, the right of females in
Nigeria would seem to be equally guaranteed as to that of their male
counterparts, and beyond this the Nigerian government having ratified and
domesticated most of these laws has an obligation to ensure enforcement. It is
however saddening that irrespective of the existence of these laws, the subordination
of women by men is not seen as a cause of underdevelopment in the analysis of
the right to development[13]
Here are
some of the adverse effects of discrimination on the female gender:
·
Early
pregnancy which often lead to complicated and early child birth resulting in
prolong obstructed labour which can cause death or result into V.V.F. (Vesicle
Virginia Fistula) to which over 12,000 women suffer yearly in Nigeria[14]: This is due to the immaturity of the female child before being given out in marriage. It is mostly done by parents so as to raise money through the collection of bride price. The exasperating fact is that the money received is often used to pay the school fees of the male child, or used for the family up keep. See the case of ALHAJI MOHAMMED v. KNOTT[15] where a 13 year old girl was married into a polygamous marriage, and the most recent is that of Senator Yerima who married a 13year old Egyptian girl two years ago, and who in August 2013, Advocated for under age marriage in Nigeria. It is as a result of this that Section 21&22 of the Child Right Act stipulates that no person under 18years of age is capable of contracting a marriage, also, no parents, guardian shall betroth a child to any person and as such, any betrothal of a person below 18 is punishable under the act for the payment of N500,000.00 fine or imprisonment for five years or both.
·
Another
aspect is the barbaric culture of Female Genital Mutilation where
partial or total removal of the female external genital is carried out, and as
a result injury is inflicted on the victim. This is callous and as such this
act is barbaric, contrary to natural justice, equity and good conscience.
3.1 INHERITANCE
Another area
where Nigerian custom encourages discrimination on females is with regards to
inheritance. It’s regarded a taboo for a female to take part in the sharing of
her father’s property. Instead, the property may be allocated to the father’s
immediate brother. Folami V. Cole[16],
where the court stated that the right of a female child to inherit the property
of her parents depends on:
* She must
be the eldest of the family.
* All other
surviving children must be females.
It therefore
suffices to say that even if she happens to be the eldest, the last child being
a male automatically inherits the property. This shows the height of gender inequality
even in our law.
Worthy of
note are Sections 353 and 360 Criminal Code which are examples of where the law
itself discriminates against female gender. Making indecent assault against
male in Section 363 a felony with three (3) years imprisonment, whereas, section
360 written in the same context makes such an offence against women a
misdemeanor which is punishable for only two years.
3.2 EDUCATION
The
Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR)
1948, International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Right (ICESCR) 1966 and The Convention on the
Rights of The Child (CRC) 1989 all
constitute the international Bill of Rights. Collectively, they provide for the
right of education at global levels.
The CRC
which Nigeria has ratified reaffirms the right of every child to free and
compulsory primary schooling, and states further that higher level education
shall be accessible to all without discrimination of any kind. (Art
28, 29, 30, and 31 of the CRC. This Act also protects children from
exploitative work that might interfere with their education.
In addition,
section
18 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as
amended, states that government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy and shall
as at when practicable provide free education at all levels. It can be said
that its in realization of this that the universal Basic Education UBE
programme was introduced through the UBE Act 2004 to replace Universal Primary
Education programme inaugurated in the middle 70s.
Section 2(1)
of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act,[17] to which section 15(1) of the Childs Right Act complements,
allows every child a free and compulsory education which should be the duty of the Nigerian government to provide.
The question
begging to be answered is what sanctions can be enforced against the Nigerian
Government for having failed in this obligation, considering the constant Fee
increment and educational setbacks faced by both student and academic staffs to
which the Yearly ASUU, SSANU, NASU, and ASUP strikes are kingpins when the said
sections of the Constitution is NON
JUSTICIABLE ?
The denial
of female children educational benefit is not only peculiar to Nigeria alone as
other countries in Africa are also found wanting.
An example
is BOTSWANA where part of the
regulation of the teachers training college requires a female student to immediately
inform the college if she becomes pregnant and as such may be expelled. Thanks
to the court which held that this policy amount to discrimination against
married female students minding the fact that the male counterpart who
impregnates the female student is left unpunished.
However, Section
15 (5) of the Child Right Act protects a female child who becomes
pregnant before completing her education and gives her the opportunities to
continue after marriage, Section 15 (6) is criticized,
whereby parents who refuses to send their wards to school or make them learn a
trade are punished either by imprisonment for two months or payment of fine.
The question
then is: Is this law rational? Where would they get such money? Who would look
after the child when the parent is being imprisoned? How would the child
survive?. Instead, It’s opined that the government takes up the responsibility
of catering for this children rather than adding salt to their injury.
3.3 EMPLOYMENT
It is
sacrosanct to note that a woman life right from child hood to adult hood is
travailed by discrimination of all kinds. In fact, the total numbers of
discrimination confronting women can be calculated by the number of days she
has spent on earth.
These
discriminations affect the socio economic profile of women in no small measure.
A classical example is Section 122 of the Police Act[18]
stipulate that police women recruited to the general duties branch of
the force may in order to RELIEVE MALE OFFICERS FROM THOSE DUTIES be employed
in clerical, telephone and office orderly duties. What then can be said when
these inhumane acts are being backed up by statutory regulations, thereby
appearing to be established legal norms which become unquestionable.
It’s
therefore my candid opinion that the relegation of women (female gender)
contribute to the poverty and underdevelopment the Nigerian society is
experiencing in the 21st century, and the only way out is to
incorporate gender sensitivity into all spheres of human endeavour.
4.0 CONCLUSION
In
conclusion, recognizing the rights of the females is a sine qua non to economic empowerment, societal enhancement and
stability. Since the world has become a global village, no country can stand in
isolation. It would be of immense good, if Nigeria as a country works towards
enforcement of the already ratified domesticated and enacted legislations.
Enough of making laws on discrimination against females and children let the
ones we have speak.
REFERENCE
·
Lagos State
University Law Journal
Volume: IV issue 2 (2002) pp. 1- 233
published by: faculty Of Law, Lagos State University.
Volume: V issue 1 (2007) 1166.
Volume: VIII No. 1 (May/June 2010).
Volume: VII N0. 2 & 3 (Dec 2011/ Jan
2012).
·
University
of Ibadan Law Journal
Volume: 1 No. 1 (Oct 2011) published by:
Ibadan University Press Publishing House.
Volume: 1 No. 2 (Dec 2011).
·
Advocacy for
FHR & ACPR (by Hyginus Ogochukwu Monyei).
·
21st
Century Chambers Dictionary.
·
BLACKS Law
Dictionary 9th edition.
·
Child Right
Act 2004.
·
Laws of the
Federation 1960- 2010. Volume 13
OLUSEGUN MABAWONKU
omabwonku@gmail.com
+2348176462214
[1]1981/86
[2] wade 410(1973) U.S pg. 159
[3] cap 38 laws of federation 2004
[4]
Passed by the N.A on the 1st July 2003
[6] Entered into force on Nov. 29, l999
[7] (2008)12 NWLR pt. 1102
[8] (1960) 5 F.S.C
[9] 1958 CAP C 38, LFN 2004
[10] Adopted by the general Assembly of the United
Nations on December 10, 1948
[11] CUN DOC, A/RES/34/180
[12] 1966
[14] VANGUARD NEWS PAPER 20 JULY, 2013
[15] (1909) I Q.B.I
[16] (1990) 2 NWLR Pt. 445-457
[17] 2004
[18] Cap 35 a laws of Federation 1990
