Since the middle of March, there have been few opportunities to talk with girls and their teachers, something I have deeply missed in my role as Education Director for the Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC). However, this week, we were delighted to host a virtual visit to Ethiopia by Baroness Sugg. Thanks to a near-perfect connection, the Minister spoke at length with female volunteers who are facilitating continued access to education for girls in their communities. Backed by UK Aid, the GEC is supporting four projects in Ethiopia which are reaching 80,000 vulnerable girls and ensuring they continue learning. These vital projects give girls the chance of a better future for themselves, their families and their wider communities.
In the year 2000, fewer than 12% of girls were enrolled in primary school in Ethiopia. Twenty years later, before the coronavirus pandemic, 56% of girls enrolled and completed a full cycle of primary school. This is remarkable progress, but considerable challenges still remain. Only 30% of children make the crucial transition from primary to secondary school and in some rural areas, poor adolescent girls are virtually excluded from formal education.
It is also clear that coronavirus not only poses threats to health, but also to participation in education and gender gaps are widening as the crisis takes hold. Girls are particularly vulnerable through increased gender-based violence, early marriage and unintended pregnancy; evidence from several countries suggests this is already happening. An estimated 13 million additional child marriages are expected globally; the majority in Africa.
With predictions that 20 million secondary school-aged girls around the world could be out of school by the time the pandemic has passed, the risk this poses to girls and their futures is stark. The hidden impact on women and girls, both short and long-term, will be particularly acute for those living in poverty-hit communities and war-torn countries, including the potential for what has been called a ‘shadow pandemic’ of gender-based violence. In Ethiopia, the pandemic represents a threat to the significant progress the country has made, with an estimated 26 million students out of school due to school closures, 12 million of whom are girls.
The Girls’ Education Challenge projects are responding in multiple ways to continue to provide education to girls in some of the hardest-to-reach and marginalised communities. The CHANGE project in Ethiopia, which provides numeracy and literacy education for highly marginalised girls from ages 10 to 19, is an example of this.
When coronavirus struck and schools in Ethiopia closed, the CHANGE project was able to adapt, devising socially distanced learning groups, enabling small groups of girls at a time to continue with their learning safely in their own communities using workbooks and local materials. Accessing educational programmes delivered by radio, television or online is not possible for these girls. Community action volunteers, older women in the community, play a crucial role in this, acting as a link between communities and teachers or facilitators, persuading students’ families of the importance of allowing girls to continue their education.
The International Day of the Girl exists to recognise the challenges girls experience across the world that prevent them from reaching their potential. This year it is a time to pause and reflect on the increasing education inequalities impacting many adolescent girls as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A time to stand with girls across their world for their rights. A time to listen, help to amplify and be inspired by girls’ voices, experiences, demands and aspirations, both for themselves and for their communities. The GEC is playing a part here, working with multiple partners across 16 countries to try to ensure all girls continue to be able to participate in safe high-quality education and are able to return to school when these re-open.