Gender and education

© UNICEF/NYHQ2007-1373/Pirozzi

Girls tend the school garden at the Catholic primary school in Rwanda. UNICEF supported construction of the school and its sports and play areas.

All children have a right to quality education, and realizing this right for girls goes a particularly long way. Educated girls grow into women who tend to have healthier and better nourished babies, who most likely will do everything to have their own children attending school as well, thus breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. Educated girls can better protect themselves against HIV, trafficking and abuse.

Educating a girl also means that as a woman, she is empowered and more likely to participate in development efforts and in political and economic decision-making. Women who went to school usually manage to increase the household income. The advantages of girls’ education thus do not stop at the boundaries of a single child, but ripple through families, communities, and nations.

Countries throughout then Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESAR) have made progress in ensuring girls can enjoy their right to education. However, major challenges remain.

Key issues

Primary education: Access to primary school education in ESAR has increased exponentially since the World Education Forum in 2000. Between then and 2007–2008 the number of children in primary school rose from 46 to 68 million. The net enrolment rate increased in almost all countries reaching a regional average of 85 percent in 2007–2008. These gains are largely a result of increased investment and new policies, such as the abolition of school fees and innovative interventions supported by developing partners, including UNICEF. However, in the region some 8.8 million children of primary school age remain out of school.

On average, enrolment in primary school is now higher for girls than for boys. The gender parity index (GPI) for net enrolment stands at 1.01, meaning there are 101 girls against 100 boys in primary school in the region. However, the average often masks significant gender gaps between and also within countries. In Comoros (75 percent/71 percent), Eritrea (50 percent/43 percent), Mozambique (82 percent/80 percent) and Somalia (25 percent/21 percent) net enrolment of boys is higher than of girls.

In addition, repetition and drop-out rates in the region remain unacceptably high throughout primary education. Average repetition rates for all grades are about 15 percent, and approximately 4 out of 10 children drop out at the primary level. There are only limited gender disaggregated data available on primary school completion. In 2006, girls in Eritrea had higher completion rates than boys (48.3 percent for boys/51 percent for girls), while in Mozambique (38.3 percent/32.6 percent), Malawi (22.3 percent/13.8 percent) and Burundi (44.9 percent/27.3 percent) rates were much higher for boys than for girls in 2006.

Secondary education:  At secondary level, girls’ enrolment remains lower than that of boys, with a GPI of 0.97. The gap is significant in countries such as Angola(22 percent for boys/20 percent for girls), Eritrea (30 percent/20 percent), Ethiopia (30 percent/23 percent), Malawi (25/23), Somalia (9/5), Zambia (38/35) and Zimbabwe. In other parts of the region, boys are disadvantaged. In Lesotho for example, 16 percent of boys are enrolled in secondary education compared to 27 percent of girls.

Female teachers: The percentage of female teachers in primary schools varies widely: In Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa in 2007 around 78 percent of primary school teachers were women, compared to 33 percent in Comoros and 34 percent in Mozambique. In secondary school, 50 percent or more of the teachers were women in 6 out of 13 countries.

Barrriers to girls' education

At household and community level poverty is a main factor undermining girls’ right to education. School fees and additional costs such as transport, clothing and books reinforce the gender gap. When poor families cannot afford to educate all their children, it is often their daughters who have to stay home until they get married. In Malawi, the World Bank provided adolescent girls with stipends in addition to cash transfers being paid to their parents. By the end of the project in December 2009, girls’ drop-out rates had been reduced by approximately 40 percent.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2005-1395/Nesbitt

Girls share a book during class at Ndirande LEA (Local Education Authority) Primary School in Malawi.

Further to this, household chores often affect girls’ opportunities to learn and thrive, by taking away valuable time that they could spend on their education. For example, girls often are in charge of collecting water before school. Each trip may easily take more than an hour, resulting in tardiness and absenteeism. A study in Tanzania showed a 12 percent increase in school attendance when water was available within 15 minutes compared to more than half an hour. Girls often also have to stay home to care for sick relatives, an ever-increasing need in the context of HIV and AIDS. 

At school level infrastructure deficits often hamper girls’ school attendance and achievements. Less than half of all schools in the region provide for access to safe water and less than 40 percent have adequate sanitation facilities. All too often, girls in particular are forced to skip classes or drop out of school altogether because there are no separate toilets for them which guarantee a minimum of privacy, a problem which becomes particularly pertinent once girls reach puberty.

Moreover, harassment and insecurity may deter girls from attending school. Many girls are facing sexual and physical abuse from teachers and peers, both in school and on the journey to and from home. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) sexual coercion and harassment are most commonly experienced at home and in school. Research in Uganda found that 8 percent of 16 and 17 year-olds had had sex with their teachers. According to a study by Plan International, at least one-third of all child rapes in South Africa in a given time were committed by school staff. However, most victims never speak out because they feel ashamed or scared of being stigmatized.

Early marriage and pregnancy can also lead to girls dropping out of school. Some countries, including Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya have introduced policies which facilitate the re-admission of young mothers after giving birth, Between January and June 2007, over 326 pupils in Malawi came back as a result of this policy. Other countries however are still lacking behind.

UNICEF interventions

In keeping with the Beijing Platform for Action’s commitment, UNICEF uses a wide range of interventions to promote girls’ education.
One of the key initiatives is the UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI). UNICEF is the lead agency and manages the UNGEI Secretariat. The initiative aims to narrow the gender gap in primary and secondary education and to ensure that by 2015, all children regardless of gender will complete primary schooling and have equal access to a quality education that is free of charge.

The initiative has contributed to strategic reforms in many countries in the region, with significant support from donor countries such as Norway.

At the policy level, UNICEF advocates for reforms which facilitate the inclusion of girls, including the elimination of school fees as well as the introduction of protection mechanisms for pregnant girls and re-entry policies for young mothers.
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As part of its Child Friendly School approach UNICEF promotes gender sensitive education, helps train female teachers as role models for girls, and supports the construction of separate sanitation facilities for boys and girls.

Another key component of UNICEF’s support is the introduction of a stronger gender focus in life skills education for HIV prevention.

PROJECT OFFICERS ( one Female and one Male) to SMGEO

Social Mainstreaming for Gender Equality Organization (SMGEO) is a Non-Government Organization (National Level). It has been established on 10^th August, 2015 by United Republic of Tanzania under the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children (MCDGC) with registration 00NGO/00008106. This is a National level Organization that allowed to works its projects in Tanzania Mainland.

 A large and growing body of researches and gender projects has shown how gender inequality undermines health and development. To overcome gender inequality the United Nations Population Fund states that, “Women's empowerment and gender equality requires strategic interventions at all levels of programming and policy-making. These levels include reproductive health, economic empowerment, educational empowerment and political empowerment.

SMGEO was formed according to the willingness of the community people in a view to deal with the present socio-economic problems in different areas in Tanzania Mainland by means of good understanding and sharing the problems each other and to find out the best way of solving the problems through free discussion in different projects and people participation in the decision making and get-together under an umbrella of SMGEO Organization.

 SMGEO believe that gender discrimination and imbalance are the challenges that jeopardize the stability and wellbeing of the society in present and future generation, thus SMGEO as Non-Profit Organization are engaging to restore and promote equal integration of both male and female as well as disadvantages groups in the development projects for community benefit.

Vision: A society that upholds gender equality, dignity, respect and fairness for all in order to meet socio-economic development.

Mission Statement: Effectively and efficiently to promote gender equality and freedom from discrimination and segregation of all persons (male and female) in the society in general.

Goal: To increase engagement of grassroots women and other marginalized groups with gender transformation and social justice issues informed by the transformative feminist agenda.

For now we have only two opportunities (one for male and another for female) that needed as PROJECTS OFFICER.

PROJECT OFFICERS QUALIFICATIONS AND OTHER CONDITIONS: -

The applicant of this position must have the following characteristics:

1.        Have sufficient knowledge from Degree, Master Degree and must have knowledge of not less than three years on the organizers of the literature of exploration projects and donors and project activities

2.        Ability to provide an organization funds from domestic and foreign countries

3.        Be prepared to cooperate with the leadership of the organization and the Board of the organization and satisfaction with working conditions.

4.        Smart, competent, honest and respectable to the titled post

5.        Eligible to work anywhere as long as there is a method for each step to make sure the work is going and progress is made in all project management from grass root.

6.        There will be a contract for each project you acquired your efforts to find donors.

7.        Project that direct help society  in general to the areas such as gender issues ,health, children ,youth, environment, education youth and economic issues .

Application letter and your CV MUST only send to the organization to email smgeo2015@gmail.com   or Zoom but your letter must be addressed to,

Managing Director

Social Mainstreaming for Gender Equality Organization, P.O.BOX 6444 MOROGORO, TANZANIA.

smgeo2015@gmail.com web blog: www.smgeoorg.blogspot.com  

THIS NOTICE is given by SMGEO  4^th June, 2016.

Gender and water, sanitation and hygiene(WASH)

© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1476/Noorani

Girls walk to the latrines at Kisojo Model Primary School in Uganda.

Throughout Africa women and girls are the main providers of household water supply and sanitation, and also have the primary responsibility for maintaining a clean home environment. The lack of access to safe water and sanitation facilities therefore affects women and girls most acutely.

About 157 million people in the Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESAR) are not connected to a clean and safe water distribution system, and thus need to use external water sources. Around 247 million people have no access to improved sanitation. In countries such as Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, well over half of the population has to practise open defecation. Poor water and sanitation, as well as unsafe hygiene practices are the main causes of diarrhoea, one of the main child killers in the region. Each year more than 250,000 children under the age of five die from diarrhoeal diseases.

Key issues

The burden of fetching drinking water from outdoor sources falls disproportionately on girls and women. Surveys from 45 developing countries show that in almost two-thirds of households without a drinking water source on the premises, it is women and girls who collect water. In the 12 percent of households where children collect water, girls are twice as likely as boys to be responsible.

In several countries in the region (Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia) collecting water takes longer than 30 minutes for more than a quarter of the population. This considerably reduces the time women and girls have available for other activities such as childcare, income generation and school attendance.

Education: Girls often have to walk long distances to fetch water and firewood in the early morning. After such an arduous chore, they may arrive late and tired at school. Being ‘needed at home’ is a major reason why children, especially girls from poor families, drop out of school. Providing water closer to homes increases girls’ free time and boosts their school attendance.

A study in Tanzania showed a 12 percent increase in school attendance when water was available within 15 minutes compared to more than half an hour away. When girls enter puberty they are often forced to skip classes or drop out of school, because there are no separate toilets for them which guarantee a minimum of privacy. Lack of separate and decent sanitation and washing facilities discourages girls who are menstruating from attending full time, often adding up to a significant proportion of school days missed.

HIV and AIDS: The absence of clean water and sanitation also increases the risk of opportunistic infections and diarrhoeal diseases among people living with HIV and AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls account for 60 percent of all HIV infections. In many cases, they are also the caregivers of chronically sick family members. With better access to water and sanitation facilities, the burden on households caring for AIDS-affected members is reduced.

Protection: Without access to latrines, many women and girls become ‘prisoners of daylight’,daring to relieve themselves only under the cover of darkness. Night-time trips to fields or roadsides, however, can put them at risk of physical attack and sexual violence. According to a 2010 Amnesty International report, a high number of women in slum areas in Kenya are raped when they resort to open defecation because they have no private sanitation facilities at home.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-1306/Tanner

A girl carries containers filled with safe water provided by UNICEF in the suburb of Budiriro in Zimbabwe.

Emergencies: Conflicts and natural disasters that exacerbate water scarcity can lead to a double hardship for women. When water is scarce, women and girls may have to travel longer distances to obtain water, which can expose them to danger. Their mobility in disasters may be restricted or affected due to cultural and social constraints, and as a result they may have limited to no access to water or adequate sanitation facilities. 

Women’s empowerment: While women often have the primary responsibility for the management of household water supply, they are rarely consulted or involved in the planning and management of this vital resource. In sub-Saharan Africa, women produce up to 80 percent of basic foodstuffs, yet they have the least access to the means of production. There is evidence to show that water and sanitation services are generally more effective if women take an active role in the various stages involved in setting them up, from design to planning, through to the ongoing operations and maintenance procedures required to make any initiative sustainable. A World Bank evaluation of 122 water projects found that the effectiveness of a project was six to seven times higher where women were involved than where they were not.

UNICEF interventions

UNICEF is working to ensure that women are directly involved in the planning and management of water supply and sanitation programmes, and that hygiene promotion interventions are specifically designed to reach them. UNICEF-supported programmes also strive to address the inequities suffered by women and girls in relation to water and sanitation services.

Gender is a guiding principle of the UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Strategy (2006–2015). The School Sanitation and Health Education programme which is implemented in Eastern and Southern Africa(ESA) in the context of the “Child Friendly Schooling” strategy is an example of its practical application.

The programme focuses on building separate toilets for girls and boys and providing hygiene education in several countries in the region. This is proving to significantly increase girls’ school attendance. In Uganda improved attendance and lowered drop-out rates for girls have been noted since introducing female-only washrooms. In Kenya and Zambia murals or ‘talking walls’ in schools are demonstrating the effectiveness of delivering hygiene messages to students. UNICEF also supports research in Somalia and Tanzania on the effects of menstruation on school performance.

Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS), a set of principles that reflect and guide UNICEF’s programme strategy, were defined at global level in 2008. CATS is a distillation of best practices collected from community-based sanitation programming worldwide. It focuses on community leadership, behaviour change and eliminating open defecation. In ESA, CATS is implemented by UNICEF and partners in 13 countries. The involvement of women in local sanitation committees has been important, not only because it raises their status in the community, but also because it improves programming.

During emergencies, UNICEF responds with a package of water and sanitation interventions, including the distribution of hygiene kits for women and girls.