The limiting factors of girls’ education

Girls’ education in The Gambia has over the years seen strong demonstration of commitment, especially from government quotas.

The government of the day under its leadership is not taking it lightly as is manifested by the initiative of the President’s Empowerment of Girls’ Education Project (PEGEP). This initiative, a brainchild of the Gambian leader, Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, has since paid dividend as most girls have secured sponsorship, and many more continue to benefit to complete their educational carrier.

However, despite such a bold initiative by the president, with government’s education policy geared towards ensuring the production of more female elites in the country for the acceleration of the country’s development strive, there are still a handful girls who are left out, they are especially in the rural settlement.

The hidden secret behind such an unfortunate trend appears to be connected to some deep-seated cultural factors – forced marriage, for instance. Teenage pregnancy, one of the direct results of this barbaric practice, forces many girls to quit education and get married, mostly to some unknown individuals who, after inundating them with children, throw them away at their detriment. This is unfortunate and selfish on the part of these men.

The Daily Observer, recently, caught up with some teenage girls who gave accounts of their troubles.  While for some it was experiences they would remain ever to take as reference points, for others the thought of it serves as a source of regular nightmare.  One such girl (name withheld) was a grade eight student at Kwinella Upper Basic School in the Lower River Region. She now languishes in despair, under her widowed mother’s care, with her three-month old baby sharing in the suffering of this unfair world.

She told the Daily Observer that she had been forced to quit her education to marry a so-called businessman who she said had managed to convince her parents with a pack of false promises for better life for her. "Since I was handed over to him, he never at one point talked to me about completion of my education. He failed to live by his promises, and he forced me to obey and fulfil my marriage obligations," the poor girl narrated, in tears. And he went on: "Immediately after giving birth, one month, to be precise, I was giving my marching orders."

Asked about the problem that transpired between them, warranting their divorce, she said: "no problem at all; he just asked me to go back to my parents as he was no more considering our marriage as valid."

This poor girl was not the only victim as another girl narrated a similar story, only that she turned out a little bit fortunate, as it were, for she returned to school, courtesy of her brothers, after breastfeeding her child. She did not hasten, however, to share the sad story of two of her friends with the Daily Observer. They are not in school because of forced marriage, she moaned.

The stories of these girls might not be the first, but they serve as warning for society, as all we need is concerted efforts of all and sundry, particularly on the side of parents, in a bid to wiping out this menace. This can lead to the realisation of the dream of the current administration for girls.

Regional education officials also need to take note of the existence of this phenomenon, and it is also their duty to take necessary steps to avert the situation.