On my way to work this morning I heard an interesting campaign on the radio about the importance of education for Liberian youth, more specifically the add seems to be for parents, aimed at promoting the education of their girl children.
When I get to the office I ask one of my colleagues, “If education is now *free for all children, both girls and boys, why is there still such an issue with parents choosing not to send their girls to school?”
One things that is really amazing about how Liberians answer questions, is that they do it in such a lyrical and narrative way. My co-worker is very well educated, articulate and extremely motivated to make political and social reforms in his country in order to ensure girls and women have equal access to education. He gives me a little smile that makes me know… I have much to learn before I understand the more subtle workings of Liberian society.
“Eh Lindsay...you know, sending the girl child to school is not easy O”, he says.
He goes on to tell me the story about how when he was growing up, his sister also did not go to school, even though him and his brother did. When I ask if it was a mater of financial constraints, he tells me no. The reason he gives is because of the rural location of their village, him and his brother had to walk several kilometers to and from school. Once they got to the high school level, they had to walk an even long distance to catch a ride from the elementary school into the high school that was located in the next town. He tells me how during rainy season because of all the mud on the path to school he used to have to take all his school clothes off put them in a plastic bag and walk to school in his underwear, and how for a boy child there is no shame in doing this, but for a girl child she could not possible do the same. He explains, how he would have to run very quickly to try and make it to the school in time to catch the ride and how there is no way his sister could have run as fast. He also tells me that when money was especially tight, and his family could not afford to replace his school uniform, he would ware it with rips, but how the family would have been too ashamed to send their girl child out with torn or dirty clothing.
I am grateful for my colleague sharing with me his own personal experience because it has shed some light on a few things for me. One major gender issue, is that family dignity and pride is still so intricately linked to the protection and “decency” of their girls. I think this is still true in many countries and cultures throughout the world. Secondly, there is still this belief that biologically, women are somehow inferior to men and that due to our weaker state we cannot possibly endure the same kind of physical challenging activities that men undergo. I find this channel of argumentation particularly annoying, because I feel that people still insist upon arguing this point in the face of so much contrary information.
In the context of Liberia, I find it difficult to see how on one had a young girl is seen as too vulnerable or weak to walk a muddy path to school, and yet on the other hand she is seen as completely capable of carrying a huge basket of oranges, bananas, water or various other products on her head for 10 hours a day weaving in and out of traffic under the beating hot sun. Or how she is expected to carry a child on her back, in addition to carrying a huge bag of coal, clothes, dried fish etc. all the way to the market, so she can make a meager profit to bring home food and prepare the family meal. How could these activities be any less exhausting than a 3 kilometer walk to school in the morning? Or how are these young girls any less vulnerable or exposed to any kind of physical or sexual assaults out on the streets or in the markets?
It not easy, O!
What I am trying to say, is not that is acceptable for any child to have to walk kilometers a day on a dangerous path in order to get an education. I think it should be the responsibility of all States to provide safe, assessable and equal educational opportunities to girls and boys. But in the meantime, in a post conflict environment, where schools, roads and transportation systems are still being rebuilt; I would like for people to stop and think for one minute…is it really because we are concerned that girls can’t walk far enough or run fast enough that we aren’t sending them to school? They don’t seem to have a problem getting to the markets, so why is the schoolhouse so much more of a challenge?
A very enthusiastic, strong and capable Liberian girl on her way back home from school!
* I would like to note that recently, I completed a report on Liberians' perception of their States and the services they have been able to provide in the past 8 years. Although reforms have been made in order to provide free education across the country, it seems that in some counties, teachers are still having trouble getting paid and as a result at times they ask/exploit their students for money.
