Senegal School Gives Girls a Chance to Learn, Lead and Challenge Barriers
A girls’ boarding school on the Goree Island in Senegal is demonstrating the potential of education to be a powerful child protection tool, providing girls with opportunities to develop confidence, stay in school and to envision a future that is not limited by restrictive social norms.
Mariama Ba school accepts only 35 girls out of hundreds of high performing students annually. The State fully funds tuition and boarding, enabling selected girls to receive six years of intensive academic training, as well as sports, arts and leadership opportunities.
The experience has been life-changing for students like 19-year-old Ndeye Awa Diop. She was once too shy to raise her hand in class, but now is the student council president at school and wants to become an international business lawyer.
The school’s significance is set against broader issues of girls’ lives in Senegal. The primary school enrolment is high, but girls are more likely than boys to drop out of school before secondary education. Financial pressures, menstruation related absenteeism, early marriage and teenage motherhood can all be factors in girls dropping out.
Academic achievement is not the only reason to keep girls in school from a child protection point of view. Education can build child confidence, increase their options and decrease their vulnerability to harmful practices and dependence.
The school also offers mentorship opportunities via its alumni network, where students are matched with women in careers such as law, politics, medicine and other professions.
But, experts say these kinds of opportunities need to be made available to girls outside of the elite institutions. Maissa Abdellaoui, UNICEF’s specialist on girls’ education, said the most vulnerable girls require access to such opportunities as well.
Encouraging girls to dream isn’t enough to protect them. It involves eliminating obstacles to their education and to their own futures.
All girls should have the chance to learn, lead and choose their future.
