We know that adolescent girls are capable of being powerful agents of change both now and in the future.  They are the key to breaking the cycle of poverty for themselves, their families, their villages and their countries, but only if they are given access to high quality education.

Primary education in Malawi is free of charge and most girls manage to attend early primary grades, but as they move towards puberty, they tend to drop out of school.  By the time girls reach grade 5, they are often subjected to sexual harassment and assault both on their way to and from school as well as within the classroom walls from their male peers and teachers.  Their parents keep them home from school both to protect them from violence, as well as to help with childcare, food gathering and household chores. Girls who are orphaned are particularly vulnerable, as they have no one to pay their school tuition.  

If a girl does manage to complete primary school and earn a place in a secondary school, her family will need to pay school fees, uniform costs and examination fees.  Devalued because of gender bias, girls are often seen as unworthy of financial support.  Their only value being that of earning the family a bride price when she marries.  In the face of extreme poverty and discriminatory cultural practices, many poor girls are pressured to marry as young as 14 years of age and are extraordinarily vulnerable to HIV, early pregnancy, complications from childbirth, and lifelong physical exploitation.  Once married, they are isolated and unsupported, with little to no voice to demand their rights.  In fact, they have no idea that they have any rights.  The cycle of poverty, illness and abuse continues, not only for them but for the children they will bear and raise.

With all these obstacles, it is no wonder that classrooms in secondary schools, particularly in rural areas of Malawi, are populated almost completely by boys.

But, IF THEY DO MANAGE TO COMPLETE SCHOOL AND LEARN A SKILL, their world and the world around them can and does change, not just for girls and women, but for boys and men and entire communities.  We now know that girls are the key!  They are the solution, not the problem! 

If you want to change the world, invest in an adolescent girl. 

The Girl Effect Video