Girls using traditional song and dance to relay a

message of self respect and awareness.

Drained from an exhausting, hot day, my colleague Laura and I walked sluggishly towards Achimota Senior High School. As we drew closer, the fervent commotion of the youthful crowd was distinctly heard. It filled the recently vacated school grounds with new energy and life. Upon entering the gym, we could feel the excitement and our spirits were quickly recharged. 

“Set your goals for a better life,” one girl said.

“It pays to wait!” insisted another.

“Education is our access, we have the potential for leadership!” shouted many others in unison.

Enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted, followed by cultural displays of various traditional songs and dances, and the presentation of motivational speeches by the participants and their inspiring role models. They were all girls, representing the various places, faces, and cultures of Ghana. Despite the obstacles that may stand in their way, they are set on becoming the future leaders of this developing country.

 Every August, the Girls’ Education Unit (GEU), a subdivision of the Ghana Education Services (GES), puts on the Girls’ Empowerment Camp in Accra. The GEU’s objectives are to increase enrolment, retention, and academic achievement of girls in both basic (kindergarten to grade 8) and secondary (grade 9 to grade 12) education. These objectives are also the guiding forces behind the Empowerment Camp.

 250 female primary, junior and senior students from remote or deprived schools in different areas of Ghana are sponsored to participate in the two-week camp. Teachers and headmasters choose the participants based on their potential, character or academic merit.  When the camp was first introduced in 2001, less than 100 girls were sponsored to participate. Now, with the support of several contributors, Action Aid Ghana, Plan Ghana, World University Service of Canada/Uniterra, Canadian Development Agency (CIDA) and UNICEF, many more girls were able to travel to Accra from their communities, accompanied by their female chaperones this year. Considering the Empowerment Camp’s modest beginning, its expansion and reach are promising signs of the changing Ghanaian attitudes in realizing the importance of Girl Education and leadership.

 


'Empowering Girls Through Education: Building

Potential Leaders' is the theme for this year's

Girl's Empowerment Camp.  

Throughout their time at camp, the girls are exposed to new experiences and challenges. They participate in a variety of workshops to discuss issues that affect girls and their access to education openly: children’s rights, child labour, self-esteem, menstruation and sexual maturation, pregnancy, and personal relationships. The girls are also given tasks and opportunities to develop their leadership skills by assisting with the organization of camp events and the general maintenance of their accommodations. Women activists, doctors, nurses, science and technology educators, and a popular local TV personality, were some of the motivating guest speakers.  By surrounding the girls with inspiring and accomplished women, the camp aims to show the girls the opportunities in furthering their education and developing their leadership skills, helping them achieve their goals and encouraging them to give back to their families and communities.

 Divine Akufua, a middle-aged male director within the Girl Education Unit and a key organizer of the camp, explains: “The girls’ camp creates a platform for confidence and building life skills. The camp can change the [girls’] perspectives and influence their life circumstances.”

 Poverty is often a contributing factor in excluding children (especially girls) from accessing and completing school. With 28.5% of the country’s population living in poverty (on less than $1.25 Canadian a day), many families cannot afford to put all their children through school. When sacrifices need to be made, it is most common for girls to bear more of the burdens.

 Traditional socio-cultural practices and beliefs put preference on boys’ education rather than girls’. Girls are often the first to stay home or are put to work in order to help with the immediate needs of the family. Arranged and early marriage, female genital circumcision, and familial bondage are common practices that are still predominant, particularly in the deprived rural areas, constituting some of the other barriers preventing a girl’s access to education.

 “Many people still hang on to traditional stereotypes and practices,” Akufua explains. “In this country, girls’ rights are not given any attention and women are disadvantaged when it comes to calling the shots. When you look at the socio-political job market, there are too few women in these positions... [Many people] are afraid of gender role reversal and reversed power relations.”

 

Cultural stereotypes and attitudes can then create tendencies for women (specifically young girls) to feel inferior and push them towards domestic, labour intensive and low-paying work. Dorcas Ewusi-Ansah, Deputy Director of the Girl Education Unit, refers to low self-esteem as a significant reason why many girls do not aim high in life. Without encouragement and support to pursue their dreams, many girls are left without confidence and unconvinced of the benefits that further education can bring.

 


Ewusi-Ansah (left) from the Girl Education Unit and

Patience Gamado from Uniterra-Ghana

Ewusi-Ansah asserts: “If you are able to raise the girls’ self- esteem, they can see that they can also do anything, provided that they have the will and the capabilities for achievement.... The camp teaches the girl[s] that [they] can be a leader in [their] family, but also in the community, and then the nation at large.”

  
“Many more males must advocate for women’s rights. Because most men call the shots, men have the voices. If they say it, the perception is that it is true or right,” says Akufua.

 

The Government of Ghana recognizes the issue of equity in education and the obstacles that prevent many children, especially girls, from receiving quality education. It has committed itself to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly those aimed at: achieving 100 per cent universal basic education completion and eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education as part of empowering women and promoting gender equality by 2015.

 

Free compulsory universal basic education has been mandated in Ghana and nation-wide strategies that place the needs of girls and women at the centre of education policies have been implemented. Gradual improvements are evident: gross enrolment rates have increased to 104 per cent in 2008 and gender parity has been achieved largely in initial access to primary education. But, boys are still more likely to stay in school longer, especially at the secondary and tertiary school levels. The enrolment rate of girls aged 11-16 is lower than that of boys by almost eight per cent.  Five per cent more boys than girls on average completed junior high in the last five years. Despite the National Government’s best efforts to remove barriers for girls, a persistent gender gap in education participation exists and the Government of Ghana’s Millennium education targets are far from being achieved.

 

Like in many other developing countries, donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a substantial role in fulfilling children’s rights to education in Ghana. Their contributions include capital infrastructure, donations of materials, training programs and stable funding that is channelled through the Government’s education plans, budgets and projects. NGOs and donors have clearly been vital to the continued operation and successes of the GEU and the Empowerment Camp. And the impacts are obvious.  

 

Siratu Borsu was one of the girls sponsored to participate in the camp and someone I met at the beginning of the two week program.  Borsu, an 18-year-old in her second year of junior high (grade 7), is from a small community in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region of Ghana. She comes from a family of 30 brothers, 5 sisters, a father and his 4 wives. Since Borsu is the eldest daughter, her illiterate mother pushed for her to be sent to school; a rare opportunity for a rural girl and one only a couple of the family’s children could enjoy. After two weeks at camp, she exuded confidence, found a new sense of pride in herself, and believed in the opportunities that education could bring her.  She, like many others, was ready to return to her community, armed with strengthened leadership skills, empowered by her experiences, and eager to continue and complete her education.

 “After camp, I’m sure I’ll change my character to be more good at school. I have to study hard and be bold if I want to be a journalist,” said Borsu. Thankful for her experience at camp, she added, “From this program, I will be able to teach my sisters and colleagues about how to take care of themselves. They can [also] become future leaders.”

 There is a strong belief among the GEU directors and its collaborators that girls are best placed to advocate for their own education, especially within their own communities. Some of the camp’s past participants have gone on to articulate their goals, apply for scholarships, and sensitize their communities and families about the value of girls’ education through the formation of Girls Clubs. With assistance and guidance from teachers and GEU district officers, these Girls Clubs have helped build the self-esteem of girls and their capacity to exercise their rights in decision making both in the home and at school.

 


Siratu Borsu - Grade 7 student and an

aspiring journalist.

Patience Gamado, a National Coordinator of the Uniterra Programme in Ghana, believes that being a part of the clubs, “is empowering for the girls. It is transforming. Their confidence levels are higher. They are more interactive and making the best out of their time in school.”

 Overcoming the barriers to girls’ education requires the collaborative effort of government, educators, NGOs and donors (both locally and internationally) in changing traditional practices that hinder girls’ development and potential. If Ghana expects to reach its Millennium Developments Targets by 2015, it needs to further support and educate its females who make up half of the country’s population. Strengthening the capacity of the GEU and its various partners will help ensure that girls are guaranteed their rights to education and opportunity.

 Simply put, empowering females “Allows women to speak and stand up for themselves,” says Akufua.

 

 Statistical Source:

 

Comprehensive Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Analysis: Republic of Ghana (May 2009), World Food Programme, Republic of Ghana, and Ghana Statistical Service

Preliminary Education Sector Performance Report 2008, Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MoeSS)