Next up, math classes! The women of the two villages of Djangoula, in rural southwestern Mali, made the same request. Separately. Perhaps they had discussed the issue together. Perhaps their conclusions were reached independently.
They’d like to learn basic arithmetic, and sharpen their skill at accounting.
When I think of girls’ education in Africa, I dream of a continent where women and men are treated equally. I long for a continent where women are equal contributors to society; a continent where girls receive the same opportunities as their male counterparts so they can tap into their inherent potential. I would love to see every single girl have access to a free, quality education in Africa.
This year’s United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW59) marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Beijing Platform for Action which laid out a roadmap for progress for girls and women worldwide. I’ve just returned from the United Nations where I was a part of the Education International delegation to the 59th UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCS59). Our Education International delegation at the UN included 20 educators from 12 nations – we were present to advocate on behalf of women educators and girls in the USCSW59 and Beyond-2015 agenda.
“For her it was just the fees…she feels like if her parents had paid for the fees, she wouldn’t have even gotten pregnant. Because she really wanted to study and complete her course in the Polytechnic, and get herself something to do.”
This is a common experience faced by adolescent mothers in Kenya and South Africa. In Kenya alone, an estimated 13,000 girls leave school every year due to teenage pregnancy
The 6th of December was a warm winter morning when we, the Didis (Nepali for elder sisters and what the girls call us mentors), and the Rukmini Scholars (bahinis = younger sisters) gathered together. It was a very meaningful day for all of us for many reasons.
From the 25th of November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to the 10th of December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.
‘Fashion week’ just ended for the global development community, when thousands of international leaders convened in New York for the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Presidents, ministers, donors, UN leaders, and CEOs celebrated the newest designs in global development: stylish poverty reduction plans, glamorous partnerships to prioritize girls’ education, and beautiful spokespeople for the latest hot issues like climate change and child trafficking.
Imagine this. A young girl sits in a dusty Cairo police station with her mother and two officers. She is hesitant as she gathers the courage to tell her story but, as she begins, she paints herself as a superhero; rather than a victim of kidnapping and sexual assault, she becomes a powerful figure who defeats her hateful nemesis. Though she can neither read nor write, Yasmin wields her voice and holds the officers’ rapt attention as she tells her harrowing story throughout the afternoon.
Finally. The world is watching. The horror of what is unfolding at this very moment for 276 schoolgirls still in captivity in northeast Nigeria led the nightly news for the first time. It was a big story on every channel on Monday and hundreds of thousands of tweets made it a trending topic.
Growing up in her remote Nepalese village, located deep within the Solukhumbu (Everest) Region, Ngaki faced many hardships common among girls in Nepal who endeavor to go to school. The rural location of her village combined with the realities of her day-to-day life led Ngaki to wonder and worry about her future. She often doubted that it was possible for a girl in her circumstance to get an education.
