What if the day you first opened your eyes, your future was already determined? You are forced to clean and tend to the household, while your brothers are allowed to attend school and receive an education. You are unable to pursue a career and sustain yourself. You have no control over your own life. This is the reality for many females in Africa. In this continent, over 23 million girls are not enrolled in the school system (Mutume).
These statistics only begin to worsen as fewer and fewer girls attend higher levels of schooling (Mutume). As these girls are denied the necessary education needed for a job, they become unable to support themselves. Hendrina Chalwe Doroba, Executive Director for the Forum of African Women Educationalists, states “an estimated 40 million more youth will drop out and face an uncertain future with limited work and life skills”(Chalwae Doroba). This is the reason why women are the majority of the homeless population, as they account for almost seventy percent in most countries in Africa (Mutume). This lack of knowledge also harms the economic productivity of a country, as a significant portion of the population is not participating in the workforce (Diop). Also, without this necessary education, women become more probable to the negative outcome of contracting HIV and risk maternal and infant mortality (Wong). So, why is it that gender affects one’s access to knowledge?
One reason is that the lack of exposure to education is largely due to the established gender roles and favoritism present in African culture. Most African households are unable to enroll all their children to school, so they choose their sons over their daughters as they believe the man should be the “breadwinner” of the family while the daughter should stay to help in the home (Wong). Child marriage is also widely practiced, so a majority of girls marry under the age of eighteen which restricts them from pursuing education and obtaining a job (Wong). Even if they continue studying in school, they have to endure great difficulty to acquire a job, as males experience favoritism and are more likely to receive the position (Mutume).
The minuscule number of female teachers in Africa’s education system is very alarming and has a direct effect on how many girls attend and graduate school (Wong). When female students are taught by a female teacher, they become more motivated to study diligently and later on pursue a sustainable job, which allows them to contribute to and improve the economy (Wong). However, this outcome is not possible, as teaching in Africa is a male-dominated job prospect and is not seen as a career for women because it is usually only boys receiving the education needed to allow them to be a teacher (Diop). This often discourages the female population of students causing them to abandon learning.
Some efforts to increase the number of female students in school have been made by certain countries’ governments in Africa. In Uganda, a program called the Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents was created in order to teach girls certain life and self-employment skills (Diop). This program significantly decreased the number of girls bearing children and getting married by twenty-six and fifty-eight percent, respectively (Diop). This allows the girls to pursue their own path by focusing on learning and obtaining a sustainable job, and not being forced to start a family at an early age. With these efforts, Africa is gradually closing the gender gap in education.
These statistics only begin to worsen as fewer and fewer girls attend higher levels of schooling (Mutume). As these girls are denied the necessary education needed for a job, they become unable to support themselves. Hendrina Chalwe Doroba, Executive Director for the Forum of African Women Educationalists, states “an estimated 40 million more youth will drop out and face an uncertain future with limited work and life skills”(Chalwae Doroba). This is the reason why women are the majority of the homeless population, as they account for almost seventy percent in most countries in Africa (Mutume). This lack of knowledge also harms the economic productivity of a country, as a significant portion of the population is not participating in the workforce (Diop). Also, without this necessary education, women become more probable to the negative outcome of contracting HIV and risk maternal and infant mortality (Wong). So, why is it that gender affects one’s access to knowledge?
One reason is that the lack of exposure to education is largely due to the established gender roles and favoritism present in African culture. Most African households are unable to enroll all their children to school, so they choose their sons over their daughters as they believe the man should be the “breadwinner” of the family while the daughter should stay to help in the home (Wong). Child marriage is also widely practiced, so a majority of girls marry under the age of eighteen which restricts them from pursuing education and obtaining a job (Wong). Even if they continue studying in school, they have to endure great difficulty to acquire a job, as males experience favoritism and are more likely to receive the position (Mutume).
The minuscule number of female teachers in Africa’s education system is very alarming and has a direct effect on how many girls attend and graduate school (Wong). When female students are taught by a female teacher, they become more motivated to study diligently and later on pursue a sustainable job, which allows them to contribute to and improve the economy (Wong). However, this outcome is not possible, as teaching in Africa is a male-dominated job prospect and is not seen as a career for women because it is usually only boys receiving the education needed to allow them to be a teacher (Diop). This often discourages the female population of students causing them to abandon learning.
Some efforts to increase the number of female students in school have been made by certain countries’ governments in Africa. In Uganda, a program called the Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents was created in order to teach girls certain life and self-employment skills (Diop). This program significantly decreased the number of girls bearing children and getting married by twenty-six and fifty-eight percent, respectively (Diop). This allows the girls to pursue their own path by focusing on learning and obtaining a sustainable job, and not being forced to start a family at an early age. With these efforts, Africa is gradually closing the gender gap in education.
Works cited:
Adejumobi, Said. "The pain of inequality in Africa: many wonder why, if Africa is growing, as the 'Africa Rising' story claims, large numbers of Africans are still desperate to escape to Europe at great risk to their lives." New African, July 2014, p. 46+. Global Issues in Context, http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GIC&u=los42754&id=GALE|A376932146&v=2.1&it=r&sid=GIC&asid=2f6a452e.
Chalwe Doroba, Hendrina. “How African Policies Are Promoting Gender Equality in Education.” How African Policies Are Promoting Gender Equality in Education | Global Partnership for Education, 11 Oct. 2017, https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/how-african-policies-are-promoting-gender-equality-education.
Chatterjee, Siddharth. “Gender Inequality Is Stunting Economic Progress.” Africa.com, 28 Nov. 2018, https://www.africa.com/gender-inequality-is-stunting-economic-progress/.
Diop, Makhtar, and Christina Duarte. “Closing the Gender Gap: Lessons from Africa.” World Bank, 2016, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/opinion/2016/02/25/closing-the-gender-gap-lessons-from-africa.
Mutume, Gumisai. “African Women Battle for Equality | Africa Renewal.” United Nations, United Nations, July 2005, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/july-2005/african-women-battle-equality.
Wong, Alia. “The Continent Where Teaching Is a Male-Dominated Profession.” The Atlantic,
Atlantic Media Company, 19 Nov. 2015,
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/11/let-women-teach/416304/.
Atlantic Media Company, 19 Nov. 2015,
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/11/let-women-teach/416304/.
My main take-away from this article is that in Africa, girls receive very little rights, and a large part of that is due to the sexism that it ingrained in the culture. Is this sexism prevalent all throughout Africa or only some specific countries?
ReplyDeleteI think you effectively and successfully brought to light a serious topic in Africa: the separation between genders in Africa. With your strong evidence and arguments, I thought you did a great article!
ReplyDeleteAre gender roles starting to become more equal as Africa modernizes?
ReplyDeleteI like that you were able to incorporate a number of well-founded reasons to discuss the gender gap in education and its effects. I also liked how you talked about current initiatives to end the article on a positive note!
ReplyDelete