It is not a surprise that women and girls in a developing country are sometimes still treated as second-class citizens, though not legally or politically but culturally.
Many young girls never finish school. If they do finish school and pass the national exam, they often do not have money to go to college. Girls are encouraged to find a man, if the family doesn’t want to pay. This trend unfortunately leads to prostitution and I have had a couple students who I’ve discovered are unfortunately participate in such activities. They are young teenage girls. Many girls become pregnant and leave school. I have one 7th grade student who is pregnant. In some cases, men can simply claim a girl he desires to be his wife and so she is. Another unfortunate reality is that families often see no long term benefit to sending a girl to school since she will become married, have children, and take care of the household. As a result many young intelligent girls do not receive the encouragement and motivation to continue with their education.
In addition to lack of encouragement, the old mentality of gender equality is widely prevalent in a rural village. Many Beninese men have the strong conviction that men are superior to women. Some might not say it in so many words but the opinion is demonstrated in their comments. One man told me that all African women are lazy. Another man stated that since men can take second and third wives (a common practice here in both Christian and particularly Muslim families) and women cannot do the same, then therefore men are superior to women. Unbelievable, I know. And my favorite, women are only good for cooking and doing the laundry. There are so many other comments like these that the frustrations just become redundant.
In face of these adversities, I was impressed by the young girls surrounding me as an English teacher at CEG Toucountouna. They weren’t the timid girls looking at the ground as they cover their mouth with their hand when they speak in class, but confident and energetic girls. I felt so inspired. They were different from the norm that I hear of in other schools. I wanted to do something for these girls. That is when I thought of a scholarship program. I want to offer an opportunity to these inspiring girls with such potential. For its first year the scholarship will be available for five girls, one per class level.
I received the funding this year from my school’s accountant. He purchased a computer from me and I suggested he donate the money for a scholarship program instead of giving me the money. He was delighted to assist the school in anyway. But in coming years of course I will have to find other avenues of funding. Each girl will receive a scholarship of 25,000cfa (roughly 50 dollars) to pay for their school tuition, khaki for their one school outfit, and school supplies.
In addition to the scholarship, the selected girls will participate in unique seminars tailored to their personal and professional development. Our village is lucky to have a nunnery which has a room of computers available. I hope to teach some level of computer literacy. I will work with an IT volunteer to develop the lessons because I definitely need assistance to create computer lessons. I also thought that it would be fantastic to do seminars on public speaking. These girls need to feel comfortable and worthy to talk to most likely a group of men or a male employer in the professional world. To kick of the public speaking seminars I will be inviting my Education supervisor, Taibatou. She is a confident and intelligent Beninese woman who will be a great role model for the girls. It’s always important to include host country nationals (HCNs). She will give a speech to the school and then we will work with the 5 girls individually and as a group. I will be creating more programs this September for classes in mid-October when I’m not ridiculously busy running around the country. The school vacation will be filled with meetings, trainings, interviews, 3 week visit to the States, a girls’ camp, and training for the incoming volunteers.
All the girls with the highest GPAs were invited to submit essays on why education is important for girls in Benin. Some essays read as talking points straight out of a Development NGO brochure and others interpreted education as the way to create better mothers and wives. To be a good mother and wife is of course important but I wanted girls that have dreams that would bring them to university and beyond. I also searched for girls that knew the reality of their situation and had the desire to change it.
38 girls submitted essays. 15 girls were selected for interviews. The five girls selected are Martine, Aurore, Naderge, Pascaline, and Agathe. I will provide the girls’ stories in the next blog.
With this program, I can keep myself connected to Benin long after I’m gone. I have loved my Peace Corps service and I want to keep it and Benin a part of my life. With the program set to start in October, I’ll have a year to set up all administrative aspects and training for Beninese partners of the program.
Lastly, I would like to end this entry with a quote from one of the scholarship applicants about women and education: “Women like men have the right to have their eyes opened.” And they certainly do…
