adminTatenda Makombe
LONG ago girls were treated as commodities. They were used to pay off their parent’s debts. They were also married off as compensation for crimes their parents committed to appease the dead. Girls were also denied the opportunity to go to school. I had a chat with a group of women in their 50s and asked them why their parents denied them an education.
Their answers were, “Our fathers thought that if they educated their female children it was a worthless investment since they ended up getting married and looking after the family they get married into.”
They also said that they were denied education because a woman’s place was in the home. Their duties were child-bearing, child-rearing and taking care of the home.
After independence, thanks to children’s rights, every child nowadays is entitled to quite a number of rights; the right to play, shelter, security and education to name just a few. It was noted that girls were the most deprived hence organisations like girl-child network were formed for the empowerment of girls in Africa. The organisations also provide means for girls to stand up for their rights.
However, the girl-child still remains a victim of the patriarchal African society. In Africa girls are vulnerable and disadvantaged just because of what they are, namely girls. In many parts of the world when girls reach adolescence they are customarily given roles of mothers and wives.
They are thus deprived the right to a good education. According to population statistics there are more girls than boys in the country. It is surprising that when one looks at the pass rates the statistics show that the pass rate of boys is higher than that of girls. This is a clear indication that something is wrong somewhere.
According to a survey done at school x in Manicaland the number of children who recorded most absentees were girls. This shows that most girls miss out on very important concepts which in turn affect their grades in school.
I took the liberty of asking the teachers the reasons that these girls gave for skipping school. Most of the girls are said to be skipping school because they have to take care of their younger siblings while the mothers attend church meetings, funerals, or do laundry.
I was fortunate enough to come across a young lady who is doing grade 6 at school x. This girl attended school erratically. When I asked what she was doing when she didn’t attend school, she told me that she took care of her disabled grandmother and only came to school when she was away for her medical check- ups or when her daughters visited.
Another obstacle that hinders girls from performing to their fullest potential is that they do not get enough time to study. I asked two siblings from the same family (twins) who are fourteen to write lists of their daily chores. On the girl’s list was tidying the house, cooking for the whole family, doing dishes, and the boy’s list read, feeding the chickens and I sometimes helping a sister with her chores. In the case of these twins it is obvious the boy has more time to study than the girl.
The girl child also remains disadvantaged because they lack encouragement from home and school. It is surprising because you even hear teachers saying boys must work very hard. It is better for girls to perform badly because they are going to find someone to marry them and look after them. This statement clearly does not motivate the girl-child to work hard.
Another incident that I came across that proved that our young girls are not getting encouragement is of a young lady who was telling this middle aged woman (her relation I suppose) that she had not done very well in her O Level examinations. The middle aged woman gave a shocking reply. “It’s ok my daughter. It’s not the end of the world. Now concentrate on finding a guy who will take care of you.”
The girl child is culturally nurtured to be a good wife at the expense of her education. It is sad that in most cases it is women disadvantaging their fellow women. To educate a boy is to educate one person but to educate a girl is to educate the nation. Let us thrive to give our girls, not simply an education, but a good one.
Online Reporter