top of page

Opportunities for the future

Central Africa 

Seeing as child marriage is one of the leading reasons as to why girls do not complete their education (or don’t enroll at all), the legal age for marriage needs to be raised to 18 in Central African nations. For the countries that already have their age of marriage set to 18, there need to be stricter observances and harsher consequences for breaking this law (as many of the countries that already have this law still have high rates of child marriage. Furthermore, safety and security need to be improved in both the girls route to school and while they are there studying, as reports have cited violence and intimidation during the journey to school as a reason for girls not attending school. 

East Africa 

In East Africa, education needs to be made affordable and accessible for families so they can send their daughters to school without barriers (and in many cases, this means making school free). When impoverished families are forced to pick and choose which child to pay school fees for in Eastern African countries, they overwhelmingly elect to send their sons. Furthermore, governments with discriminatory practices and policies towards pregnant and married women need to be scrapped and re-evaluated so these women may re-enroll in school. 

Southern Africa 

In select Southern African nations, such as Botswana, offering free sanitary pads to female students has proved incredibly effective. Additionally, educating young women on the negative consequences of unprotected sex, such as the spread of HIV/AIDS and early unwanted pregnancy will help prevent girls dropping out due to the stigma surrounding HIV and teenage pregnancy.  vulnerable. 

West Africa 

West African nations have a need, like the other regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, for affordable and accessible schools. Families faced with poverty will oftentimes prioritize sending their sons to school, due to the fact that they can’t afford the school fees for both their daughters and sons. Girls who do not attend school will get jobs to support their families, or marry early. In addition to more affordable schools, young girls require adequate education about safe sex and how to avoid early, unwanted pregnancy (which often leads to them dropping out of school early).

bottom of page