adminPrecious Bingwani (19)
Former DomboraMwari High student
It is without question that in this era everyone must be educated in order to thrive in this world.
As a female student studying under the financial assistance of FACEZ, one of the Non- Governmental Organizations, I can say that I am a living testimony.
I have noticed that there are some people who still believe it is not ideal to educate a female child and close to a taboo to assist
them to get access to education.
Those people who still possess such medieval thoughts that a girl child must not be educated no longer hide behind the “she will get married and it won’t benefit us,” statement.
They now claim that an educated woman will not get married as she will think she is now more knowledgeable than all men, which in my opinion goes to show that refusing the girl child education is just away they are trying to use to oppress the female populace.
How can you stand up for your rights if you know nothing about them?
It is impossible.
Which is exactly why the girl child must be educated so they may break free of these chains that are holding them down at the bottom of the food chain.
I have noticed this behaviour in school too, some boys in my class would actually say it doesn’t matter if we girls excelled in school or not as we’ll just find ourselves married to rich husbands.
In some cases, it is the girl child that believes she has no use of education as all she was taught while growing up was that she will get married and become a housewife.
This is very wrong because even housewives need knowledge.
I believe educating the girl child is now essential because from recent surveys carried out in some countries it was revealed that the children of educated women are less likely to die before their first or second birthdays hence lowering the infant mortality rate.
This is because the woman now has all the necessary knowledge of taking care of her children.
So even if a female is to become a housewife, she needs to be educated.
This inferior mentality in girl children is one of the reasons why we as females are viewed as inferior beings and I am truly grateful to FACEZ as they not only pay our fees but hold mentorship sessions to teach us to value ourselves as women and not be dependent on men.
They also teach the boys that it is important to treat women as equals not as people below them.
This has helped us in boosting our self esteem and helped us also to believe that we can achieve our dreams.
An African proverb says,”If you educate a man,you educate an individual,but if you educate a woman,you educate a nation.”
This is because if a girl gets educated she is more inclined to send her own children to school as she now understands the importance of education, unlike men,if they get educated all they want to do is acquire as much wealth as possible.
Christina Taylor says, “Girls’ education is about so much more than knowledge, by ensuring a girl has equal access to education ,employment and adequate health care, the benefits will pass onto her children, community and her country.”
This is very correct because naturally women were blessed with a maternal sense, they somehow feel obliged to always be there for others.
Imagine, if women had equal access to everything as men how the world will be like,
It will be as close to perfect as it can get as women always go out of their way to better others.
This maternal sense in women is often mistaken for weakness but I believe it is a great form of strength, nurturing others was and will never be a sign of weakness.
At some point I believed success was all about me and my family having a better life but thanks to FACEZ I now know better.
When I was doing my ordinary level some boys would tell me and my friends that if we get married our husbands would be in trouble because of the education that we have.
They may have meant it as an insult, but we call them the weaker species as they are intimidated by our wisdom.
“To educate girls is to reduce poverty,” said Kofi Aman.
Educated women have a greater chance of avoiding poverty as they have been enlightened on ways to improve their lives and hence they lead a healthy life and have a good standard of living for their children, families and communities.
To conclude I will say this, I believe in what Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie once said:
“There is no greater pillar of stability than a strong, free and educated woman.”
Educating girls saves lives and builds stronger families, communities and economies.
Online Reporter