Barriers to Girls’ Education

Lack of school fees: Lack of school fees is the most significant barrier to girl child education in South-Central Somalia. Almost half of the survey respondents (49.5%) said lack of school fees is barring girls from acquiring education, since most parents

and other care givers cannot afford school fees and other costs of education. In most schools, students (girls) who do not pay school fees are traumatized since they are overtly publicized as defaulters because majority of the available schools are private

institutions with commercial targets.

Early marriage: The issue of early marriage is a patriarchal aspect of the Somali tradition that glorifies marriage and “insulates” parents from future shame emanating from their daughters. Early and or forced marriage is the second most significant barrier to girl child education in South-Central Somalia at 29.2%. Child marriage (early and forced) is a big threat to retention and progression of the girl child in school.

This phenomenon has the net effect of exacerbating an existential negative mindset as regards benefits accruing from girl child education

Insecurity: Insecurity is a significant barrier to girl child education in South Central Somalia, girls are intimidated and hurt by armed persons who operate under the cover of soldiers, police or extremist groups. Most caregivers do not allow girls to

go out of their homes for fear of bad things happening to them largely due to the general state of insecurity and lawlessness. Insecurity is a significant threat to the girl child education in South-Central Somalia as it deters enrolment and retention

of girls. Insecurity threatens the very existence of the schools as well as the girls due to existential threats from insecurity.

Cultural barriers (Boy child preference): Cultural barriers that manifest themselves in the form of preferential treatment of the boy child compound an already bad situation in denying education opportunity for girls. Gender-related disparities are high in the education sector. The patriarchal nature of the Somali society puts the boy child as the first beneficiary of social goods, education included,

to the detriment of the girl child.

Negative attitudes of the parents: Negative attitudes of parents, especially mothers, toward girls’ education is one of the barriers to girl child education in South-Central Somalia that negatively impacts on access and retention of the girls in school. This attitude is anchored in the Somali tradition that is very patriarchal in nature. Parents generally don’t value education of girls, as they don’t have

confidence in girls. Mostly, mothers groom their daughters for marriage at a tender age and openly justify preference of boys over girls in access to education.

Domestic or household chores: Due to this burden, girls may not have the opportunity to attend school because their contributions to the household are valued more than their personal education. Domestic or household chores squarely fall on the shoulders of the girl through culturally defined roles. Girls in most families are preoccupied with household chores such as cooking, sanitation, childcare etc.

Lack of education opportunity: Generally, there is limited educational opportunity in South-Central Somalia due to conflict and instability as well as poverty and limited number of schools to serve the population. With the general problems of access to education in the region, the internal imbalance for the girl child is huge. Due to poverty, the limited opportunity for education is prioritized for boys due to cultural dictates that assign the girl to a subordinate role in terms of access to social benefits. Even the small number who get the limited opportunity at enrolment have their retention and progression threatened by harmful cultural practices such as early and forced marriages and domestic chores among others. In general, girls and more so adolescent girls in South-Central Somalia strive against huge challenges to remain in school. The transition from primary to secondary education is key to gain the knowledge and skills needed to live a meaningful life. On the other hand, the aforementioned barriers singularly or jointly strangulate the opportunity for girls to get education. The education sector in South-Central Somalia suffers from structural and systemic problems that require enormous resources and coordinated efforts to surmount. Challenges for girls to access education in South-Central Somalia are enormous and prohibitive, raising serious concerns for the future of hundreds of thousands of young girls. Additionally, poverty, insecurity and instability, cultural norms and practices contribute disproportionately to low access to schooling, and consequently illiteracy is

widespread, particularly amongst girls.