Document(s) 10 of 16

Education or School Attendance?

If it is school attendance, then parents do not see this as an absolute necessity for a girl, given their understanding of the key purpose of a girl's life, which is to get married to carry on the family blood line. Viewed from this perspective, there is no need for her to go to school.

People have no difficulty in understanding that a little boy needs to acquire knowledge from outside sources, so that he will be able to take care of his sister and his wife. He is taught to take responsibility for his "delicate" sister.

It is clear that a number of factors that have an impact on the literacy and school attendance of women and young girls also affect men and boys.

Yet above all, there is a need to grasp the fact that being born a girl constitutes a serious obstacle to her school attendance. This is because:

• when economic difficulties force parents to make a choice, the girl will be the one to be sacrificed; and
• the situation may arise where the girl is taken out of school to get married.

These are just two of many examples that make the point that a young girl encounters obstacles to school attendance that relate specifically to the fact that she is a woman.

The education-school attendance component has not been the subject of much discussion to date, because there has been a need to define the distinction between those concepts clearly, to focus the debate properly.

Self-image

Men may, indeed, lack self-confidence; but what must be understood here is that the young girl has been trained to be dependent on men, and to always request their permission. She is not free to take action or express her views. She ends up believing herself incapable to do so.

Communication

All forms of participatory communication allow this traditional knowledge to be updated, so that better use can be made of it.

It should be noted that this knowledge can only be revealed with the approval of men.

Hence, it is fairly evident that the first obstacle to a project would be the lack of men's support for it.

If the men do not believe that a project has a sound basis, they may not agree to it, and therefore will not allow their daughters, wives or sisters to be involved in it. This means that the men must be involved in the discussions from the outset.

Displaying Anger

In the African community, such displays would result in total failure, as African culture will not permit it.

Men are only going to be convinced through negotiation. Their tacit involvement in projects, therefore, is required.

Women and Time

She plays all her roles in accordance with a timing that may seem to be nonexistent or disorganized to a person from the West. In fact, the perception of time is quite distinct in African culture.

A woman's involvement in a project creates an additional workload, but in no way reduces her daily burden of tasks.

In order for any development project to become established in a region, it will need to fit in with the timing of the involved subject communities by making use of periods of reduced activity, and this will not always be consistent with the donor's strict schedule.

Conclusion

It is very important not to lose sight of the fact that women's financial autonomy is feared by men, who see their own authority thus being eroded vis-à-vis the "rich" female sex.

Document(s) 10 of 16