In rural Ghana, a building with no door stands on scorched red earth, with one side leaning towards a Baobab tree. The windows have no glass or shutters, and the cracked, faded yellow paint is peeling.
As it approaches its zenith, the sun beams down on the jagged tin roof, reflecting its light. A rooster nearby crows, strutting across the yard. Inside, a chorus of voices rings out as the teacher goes through their lesson. He teaches English, and this morning, a spelling lesson is underway.
I watch from a distance, not wanting to draw attention to myself. As the only Caucasian in the area, I stand out and do not want to divert attention from the children’s lesson.
The tall, gaunt man leading them is a teacher who returned from retirement to help the children. Their parents couldn’t afford the school fees, so each day he travels to the building to teach the children at no charge.
I know that free education is a human right that benefits everyone, yet there are still barriers to this right, especially for girls.
Why It Is Important to Educate Girls
Studies have shown that educating girls increases economic growth. Additionally, when a girl completes her secondary education, she is less likely to be forced into child marriages, which often leads to smaller families. The children she does conceive are likely to be healthier.
If 10% of girls attend school, a country’s GDP increases by 3%; if a girl completes secondary school, her income increases by 10% to 20%.
They are also less likely to suffer from domestic violence and discrimination, are safer from exploitation, and have longer, healthier lives. So why aren’t girls—particularly in developing countries—in school?
Saying goodbye to my friends before they get ready for school.
Why Girls Are Not in School
In some parts of Ghana (and other countries as well), large families with limited funds enroll the eldest son (or sons) in school. Most girls stay home to do household chores or work to support their families.
However, school fees are not the only burden on families; transportation costs (or long-distance walking to school), food insecurity, school uniforms, supplies, and political factors also affect a child’s school attendance.
Politics
For instance, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan, girls’ education became tragically restricted to the point where girls are now prohibited from attending secondary school and universities. Afghanistan is the only country in the world with strict restrictions on female education.
Girls’ education decreases in any country in crisis or conflict. In March, the United Nations declared that Afghanistan has become the most repressive country in the world for women and girls, deprived of virtually all their fundamental rights.
Poverty
My first visit to Ghana was a humanitarian trip to the northern region. While talking with families, I learned that most want their daughters to receive an education.
The process is hindered mainly by some families living below the poverty line, where food and shelter insecurities sometimes take precedence. Therefore, some girls enter the workforce early or stay at home to help with perceived women’s work.
On trips to Yendi and Accra, I witnessed many young girls and teenagers working as street vendors. Some traveled from their remote villages to live in larger cities, hoping to earn a living to support their families.
The girls carried items such as plastic buckets, lighters, and batteries in a large bowl on their heads, weaving through traffic to find potential buyers among cars stopped at traffic lights. Others sold drinks or food—usually homemade drinks, fruits, or small snacks they had prepared earlier that morning. However, these girls’ income was minimal, and they also had to find and pay for a safe place to live in the city while sending money to their parents back home.
Unfortunately, this led to long periods of separation from their families because they could not afford a round-trip ticket to visit their loved ones. These types of situations can leave girls vulnerable to other serious issues, such as human trafficking and indentured servitude.
What We Can Do
There isn’t an easy, quick fix for such a large and complex topic, but there are ways we, as individuals, can support equality in girls’ education.
One way to help is to support nonprofits that empower girls and girls’ education. These organizations have “boots on the ground” and facilitate programs to create educational equality for girls.
A few I’ve supported over the years are Malala.org, CAMFED.org, and Save the Children.org. Such organizations help with girls’ education in various ways, including:
- Creating safe schools (from preschool through secondary school) with free, quality education and safe boarding if a child needs to stay overnight due to distance.
- Providing bathrooms or changing rooms for girls who have started menstruating.
- Providing school supplies.
- Accessing safe modes of transportation to and from school.
- Supplying free nutritional lunches.
- Having families invest in their local schools through community efforts. In some developing countries, families assist with school lunches and cleaning when there are no janitors.
Other programs focus on decreasing school fees.
An NPR article reported on a Ghana-based program that reduces school fees or provides scholarships to children who pass their entrance exams but can’t afford school. The program has drastically increased the number of girls completing secondary school by 66%.
Another way to support girls’ education is to travel to countries on a humanitarian mission.
My experience increased my empathy for young women’s challenges. It also opened my mind and broadened my awareness of how to support schoolgirls and their learning. The trip was transformative, and now, championing girls’ and women’s education has become one of my passions—in my country and abroad.
Good News: White House Commits to Supporting Girls and Education
On October 11, the International Day of the Girl Child, the White House announced new actions to promote girls’ education in the United States and abroad. USAID already supports girls’ education in 50 countries, and this initiative added $21 million to fund additional educational enterprises.
The Biden-Harris release describes their action plan to ensure girls can pursue their dreams and education.
As part of this initiative, First Lady Jill Biden hosted the first-ever “Girls Leading Change” celebration at the White House, where the administration recognized young women from across the United States for their work and impact in their communities.
Girls’ Education: One Way to Peace and Prosperity
While girls’ education is complex, we need to embrace it. The benefits of providing free, quality education to girls are enormous. Investing in a girl’s education empowers her and creates economic growth and community advancement, leading to a more stable, equitable, and peaceful world.
Do you believe that girls’ education is important and deserves support? If so, find a way to contribute that makes sense to you, whether through hands-on volunteering, donating, learning more, advocating, or praying.
Let’s show our younger sisters some love by lifting them, supporting their dreams, and championing their education.
Thank you for being here with me.
Sending love,
Stacy
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