International Day of the Girl Child

Tomorrow is International Day of the Girl Child. Established just a few years ago, this day was created to recognize girls’ rights and bring attention the unique challenges they face. Girls worldwide lack access to education and investment in their well-being, meaningful participation in decisions that affect them and suffer from the cycle of discrimination and violence.[1] One of these issues that we work with here in Humjibre is the basic right that all children have to go to school.

Educating females is a key step in development and considered to be one of the most successful paths for communities out of poverty. According to the United Nations, there is:

“…overwhelming evidence that girls’ education, especially at the secondary level, is a powerful transformative force for societies and girls themselves: it is the one consistent positive determinant of practically every desired development outcome, from reductions in mortality and fertility, to poverty reduction and equitable growth, to social norm change and democratization.”[2]

Even at the household level, educated women are able to their use skills and knowledge to make informed decisions and take authority, helping to ensure the health and education of their children, the next generation.

When Ghana made primary education universal in 2005, it led to an immediate substantial increase in enrollment- especially among females, helping to narrow the gender gap.[3] However, families still focus on their sons and there are fewer girls than boys in schools, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels. Currently, there are about two girls for every three boys in senior high schools in Ghana. In rural areas like Humjibre, that ratio is worse.[4] Rural Ghanaian girls are not just slighted in the chance to go to school, they are also given less educational enrichment at home. Those females who are in school may be more negatively impacted by teachers’ strikes than their male peers because they are more reliant on teachers for their education. The endemic problem of girl children being relatively deprived of attention means that girls are less likely to be in school, and more likely to have a greater need for it.

There are several barriers that keep girls from attending school, make them more likely to drop out, and can lead to low educational outcomes for those who are able to complete their schooling. To begin with, educating girls in Ghana and many other developing countries is seen as an economic burden. It is believed that not just are girls more useful helping the family, but that educating them is a bad investment. Some argue that if a girl does not become pregnant while she is in school, she will eventually begin bearing children and will have no need for an education.

With this path set before girls, it is no surprise that they are minded less by their parents and teachers, receive less encouragement than their brothers, and are given more chores around the house that keep them from studying and even attending school. Girls are intimidated in the classroom, and taught to be quiet and set low aspirations. All girls are affected by these norms which keep them from fully, confidently participating in school.

However, with a joined global effort, barriers are being broken and negative views are changing. There are more girls in school in Ghana than ever before and there are plenty of family and community members, and initiatives from the government and NGOs like our own that work to support girls’ education.[5]

Supporting girls allows them to stay in school, achieve better educational outcomes, and become role models for younger girls. GHEI requires that at least 60% of the students in our Early Childhood Literacy program, Youth Education Program and Scholarship program are female. Beyond this requirement, we offer intentional spaces for young women to come together such as Ladies’ Night at the Tutoring Center and our two-week Girls’ Empowerment camp for Form 3 JHS girls during the summer. We believe strongly that every girl has the right to an education. GHEI works with girls to help and encourage them to reach their goals, and with the community to demonstrate they are in fact, worth it.

---

[1] United Nations, International Day of the Girl Child, http://www.un.org/en/events/girlchild/ (9 October 2013). 

[2] United Nations, Day of the Girl. 
[3] UNGEI, United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, http://www.ungei.org/ (9 October 2013). 
[4] Camfed Ghana, “What Works in Girls’ Education in Ghana: A critical review of the Ghanaian and international literature.” January 2012.

[5] UNICEF, International Day of the Girl Child, http://www.unicef.org/gender/gender_66021.html (9 October 2013).

Share |