Attitude of muslim parents towards girl-child education in Bawku municipality in the Upper East region of Ghana

Abstract

The study which used descriptive survey design was basically to find out the attitudes of Muslim parents towards girl-child education in Bawku Municipality in the Upper-East Region of Ghana. A sample of 100 respondents from communities in the Bawku Municipality comprised 25 farmers, 25 unemployed youth, 25 opinion leaders and 25 petty traders was used. A questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics. A main finding was that in the Muslim communities, the woman's role is limited to the kitchen as such she did not need formal education. It was also established that boys in the Muslim communities are offered more educational opportunities than girls. Also the low level of female enrolment and low retention rate are due to economic constraints, socio-cultural beliefs and practices such as early marriage, teenage pregnancies and child labour. To do away with this erroneous notion that the girl-child for that matter the woman's place is in the kitchen, a vigorous campaign by religious leaders and other stakeholders should be organized to educate parents about the importance of the girl-child education especially among the Muslim parents.