By By Chioma Obidozie
TOO often, society fails to ask young girls what they aspire to become. Their dreams, ambitions, and potentials are often overshadowed by the pressing realities of poverty. For many families, a girl child is seen as an escape route — marry her off, and she will deliver the family from financial struggles!
This is the story of Mary Abraham (not real name), a mother-of-three, who now hawks abacha, a popular Igbo delicacy. She, like many other girls whose dreams have been stolen, shared her experience of how her dream of becoming a doctor was dashed.
At school, Mary was brilliant and full of hope, envisioning herself in a white lab coat diagnosing patients. However, after completing secondary school, she could no longer continue her education.
Her family, burdened with six other children to feed, saw no value in investing in her future. Instead, it was more practical to marry her off and use the dowry or financial support to train the younger ones.
Mary is now married to an auto mechanic who struggles with alcoholism. While she occasionally reflects on the path she could not take, especially in these challenging economic times, she finds some comfort in her children. Though she missed out in becoming the doctor she once dreamed of, she finds solace in motherhood.
However, one cannot ignore the question: Is Mary truly fulfilled, or is she, like many other women, forced into early marriage, simply finding solace in her role as a mother because her original dreams were taken away?
The silent sacrifice of countless young girls in Nigeria, like Mary, is a narrative that should no longer be overlooked. All hands must be on the deck to change the narrative.
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