A recent meeting with a colleague from my junior high school days brought back some awesome memories. Notably among them was a girls’ club we were part of. I do not remember the club’s name, but I do remember the awesome poems, songs, and other teachings from those days that have stayed with me.
My colleague was the president of the club, and I remember her always being chosen to attend workshops in Accra. When she returned, she taught us many songs focused on the importance of educating girls, one of which was: “Educate the girl child in the area of science and math; send her to school, don’t waste her time…”. We sang it with pride at our meetings.
My friend and I talked about some unforgettable memories of school. I reminded her how we used to envy her because she got the chance to travel to Accra to learn about our girls’ club. However, the biggest question we discussed was whether the awareness and advocacy for girl child education, which was the basic message of our club, had actually yielded lasting results. We both agreed that, unfortunately, girls still have not reached the heights that clubs like ours aimed to achieve in raising awareness about their education. What went wrong along the way? Could it be complacency on our part because we thought progress had been made as a country? Are people simply tired of hearing the same messages? Is it a branding issue?
There are countless questions and observations, but it is undeniable that a significant number of girls are still not in school, even outside urban areas like Accra. Have our efforts not been sufficient? Did those in charge properly analyse the barriers preventing girls from attending school before launching the advocacy campaigns?
While there could be many questions, the main concern remains whether advocacy for girls’ education is still relevant or has faded. For diplomatic reasons, I would argue that it is at least 90% on the verge of dying out, which is alarming. Women occupy the largest segment of our population and yet are the least educated. The role of women in society is changing daily, even though we come from a conservative cultural background.
The seriousness of the situation is evident, as discussions about the importance of educating girls hardly feature in high-level discourse anymore. Why? Because those who are supposed to create and enact policies may not be present at the discussion table, may lack education, or may simply not be paying attention.
With religious and cultural boundaries, it is essential to handle the message of the girl child delicately with a consistent effort and significant input. If we are honest, we would agree that women are still marginalised in many opportunities. This occurs at corporate, political, and government, academic levels, and even among families and religious settings. The few women who rise to high positions still face discriminatory challenges. It is hypocritical to claim we support women in education or careers when they are continually sidelined, leading to dire consequences.
The Affirmative Action Act is a wonderful initiative by the government of Ghana aimed at promoting and positioning women in public decision-making roles. Yet, it can be perceived as a woman marrying a man in a traditional Ghanaian setting and solely taking care of him. It is not wrong, but our conservatism in keeping women in a particular space could make it questionable. What tangible progress has been made regarding the number of educated women in our society?
A solid advocacy campaign for educating girls should follow a theory of change. This requires identifying the questions we face regarding the issues, mapping out our vision, detailing our strategies for achieving it, and determining the outcomes we aim for. We must not start a course with only the message, simply because we have something to say; we need a clear roadmap.
It is important to state that the success of girl child education can only be achieved through the support and participation of men. Women can and should play a supportive role. Our conservative nature may frame these discussions as competitive, especially if we are not circumspect enough. However, we do not always require discretion to convey the truth. Therefore, I suggest that men and women take equal lead in championing this cause to avoid any semblance of competition.
A clear policy on the campaign of educating the girl-child should be defined before any advocacy campaign, then we understand what we intend to achieve and the strategies involved. Times have changed, and so must the strategies. It is high time we involved such discussions in our everyday conversations and quickly fix the failure of girls/ women being left behind in the area of education.
I believe there is still hope. This drum beat should be a concern to everyone, especially the men. There is a reason for Dr Kwegyir Aggrey’s comment that “if you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate the whole nation.”