SOCIO-ECONOMIC DRIVERS AND IMPLICATIONS OF GIRLCHILD LABOUR: A STUDY OF SOME COMMUNITIES OF KEBBI STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

Governmental and non-governmental organisations have made concerted efforts to combat the menace of child labour. Still, millions of children across the globe continue to be involved in work that adversely affects not only their schooling but also their overall socio-economic development, especially in developing countries.This study investigated the socio-economic drivers and implications of girl child involvement in agricultural activities in fifteen communities of Kebbi State, where girls aged 5– 15 years are involved in agricultural activities that deny their education and expose them to health hazards.The study adopted a liberal feminist theoretical approach to guide the study. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were employed, coupled with the administration of a questionnaire and focus group discussions on the target population. Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) andATLAS.ti 9 software were used for the analysis and presentation of quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Findings from the study revealed that preparation for early marriage, poverty, peer pressure, shared traditional belief, support to the family, cheap labour, lack of male child in the family, rural neglect, large family size and being an orphan were the socio-economic drivers of girls’ involvement in child labour, thereby exposing them to economic exploitation, sexual assaults, dangerous animals and school dropout. Standing on the principle of the adopted theoretical framework, this study recommends that the socio-economic and cultural roots of girl child labour should be tackled through social reforms in the form of, poverty alleviation, welfare services and reform of cultural norms and values that favour girl child labour.