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Promoting
basic
education
for women
and girls
Pai Obanya
Four African Case Studies

Pr mn
Ethiopia
Swaziland
Mozambique
n a Faso
Burkina Faso
E t h i o p i a
PaSwaziland
educationFaso
Mozambique
Burkin
UNESCO, 2004
Pr
qomoting
basic
education
for women
and girlsn
girls
Four african case studies
studiesin
Obanya
aPai

The designations employed and the presentation of material
throughout this publication do not imply the expression of
any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its
authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or
boundaries.
The author is responsible for the choice and the presentation
of the facts contained in this work and for the opinions
expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO
and do not commit the Organization.
Published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization,
7 place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris
Composed and printed in the workshops of UNESCO
© UNESCO 2004
Printed in France
(ED-2004/WS/17 cld 14435)

t h i o p 5E i a
61Swaziland
m9Mozambique
Burkin Faso
Ethiopia
Preface
p
Introduction
Swaziland
Mozambique
l7
Burkina Faso
sContents
Women’s
oEthiopia: m
issues are development issues
iissues Swaziland: Apparent gender er
balance Inclusion and participation 37
iMozambique: Burkina Faso:
h
49
hEducation–responsibility–empowerment
a
General conclusions
Bibliography 65
27m
interviewed
ns
tAppendix:
tPersons
o
organizations/institutions visited
tand
68

idepartment; Swaziland for its record on gender balance in
Burkin
T he four case studies reported here are a follow-up
the study entitled ed “Promoting Basic Education
Women end Girls: A Survey of lto oto a
Structures,
and Activities in Africa”, which has
been published series.i
in this series.
countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mozambique,
ofor
oActivities oProgrammes
oFour n
Swaziland) were involved in the study, each selected for
a specific purpose: Ethiopia for its progressive women’s
department, with a unit represented in every government
department; Swaziland for its record on gender balance in
ifo
ies
basic education; Mozambique for its dynamic post-conflict
education initiatives; and Burkina Faso for the positive
abasic
a
k
contributions of its NGOs.
All the studies examine developments in both the
formal and the non-formal sectors of basic education.
They all show bold steps undertaken to address hne
zformal country-
specific problems of girls’ and women’s education and
rThey
w
r
draw attention to the immense challenges the countries
are facing in their efforts to achieve gender
equality in education.
tns
tir
tconcerned oconcerned u
Particular attention should be drawn to the chal-
lenges and the lessons highlighted hl
at the end of each
country report as well as to the conclusions of each
Ethiopia
S
w
a
z i
l a
op
T
Swaziland
Swaziland
a
Mozambique
B
u
r
k
i
n a s
Burkina B5B5B
Faso
sPreface
o
ibeen
i
za
t
wdraw
ato
afor b
m
nSwaziland)
a
keducation
z
rThey
o
uconcerned
Burkin

Ethiopia
i i
l
a
n
d
ngirls’
nimmense i
Swaziland
Faso
They include: the pervasive influence of traditional
areport. s
beliefs and practices that are harmful to the promotion of
girls’ and women’s status; the under exploitation of the
immense possibilities non-formal education; the slow
itu
iof
statistics that in addition are not gender
disaggregated, idevelopment wom-a a
and insufficient funding for girls’ and wom-
education. These studies have implications for our
EFA process, and should be a golden opportunity
for us to draw appropriate at
lessons from today’s qdisaggregated, promising
pen’s
pon-going
a
practices the challenges we face in promoting girls and
education.
pfor ppractices pwomen’s I would like to
afor express my appreciation for the
provided by the UNESCO National Commissions
in the four countries to the author and to acknowledge the
lassistance
oassistance
a
of various agencies that provided infor-a
the infor-
that makes this report a good learning tool.
oagencies
ocooperation
omation
imation
Diallona
Diallon
Aicha Bah
Swaziland
a
E6
Mozambique
n
a F
a
s
q
Burkina Faso
Faso
i
Ffor
aassistance
ain b
Assistant Director General a.i.n
for Education a.i.

E t h i o p i a
Swaziland
gSwaziland
tiSwaziland
Mozambique
Burkin
Faso
Mozambique:d
Swaziland
a
e:
The impact of a wide variety of
innovative initiatives for the promotion of basic
education for girls women.u
n
s
and women.
Burkina Faso:
the contribution of NGOs to
a
the promotion of basic education for girls and
women. study was carried out in August-September, 2002. It
visits to each of the countries, in the course of
the following data collection methods were used:
discus-Faso
Faso
(a) visits to projects; (b) interviews and focus group discus-
sions with policy-makers and operators of programmes;
(c) analysis pThe pinvolved pwhich of documentary
awhich materials; and (d) exchange of
with national authorities and other stakeholders on
lviews
oviews
a
major observations of fact-finding exercise.
UNESCO National Commissions facilitated work of the consultant in all four countries. contri-a
Valuable contri-
athe butions UNESCO cluster offices in Ethiopia, Mozambique
othe iof
acknowledged.m
n
and Nigeria are also gratefully acknowledged.
The report is presented according to the order in
the countries were visited: Ethiopia, Swaziland,
Mozambique and Burkina Faso. While, the iwhich
zwhich
i
experience of
each country is unique, the reports have followed simi-i
a simi-
lar pattern: (a) background information (or context), to sit-
aeach
hlar k
the experiences studied; (b) an outline of the policy
(c) an assessment of the performance of the
policy on the ground; and (d) some concluding remarks,
drawing special attention auate to the lessons to huate
hframework;
zpolicy
r
be learnt from
the experiences.
Ethiopia
E8
Mozambique
a
Faso
Burkina Faso
n
Swaziland

E9
E
Ethiopia:
Women’s issues are
development issues
Background
and policy framework
T
We must do things with
instead of for women.
he Ethiopian experience is rooted in the country’s
Constitution (Proclamation number 1 of 1995), which
states in its Article 35:
“Women have the right to full consultation in the formu-
lation of national policies, the designing and execution of
“The historical legacy of inequality and discriminaThe
historical legacy of inequality and discrimination suf-
fered by women in Ethiopia taken into account, women,
in order to remedy this legacy, are entitled to affirmative
measures. The purpose of these measures shall be to
special attention to women so as to enable them
compete and participate on the basis of equality with
men in political, social and economic life, as well as in
tprovide
public and private institutions [Article 35.3].”
E thiopia
ia

Ethiopia
:p
i
10
E
projects, and particularly in the case of projects affecting
the interests of women [Article 35.6].”
Women constitute approximately half of the popula-
Ethiopia (see Table 1), and a concerted effort has
ien
iof
ition
ibeen made to give vent to the equality provisions of the
Constitution in the form of a ‘National Policy on Ethiopian
which targets the following twelve priority
areas:
Women and poverty.
2. Education and training for women.
3. Women and health.
pen’,
pWomen’,
p1.
4. Violence against women.
5. Women and armed conflicts.
6. Women and the economy.
7. Women in power and decision-making.
8. Institutional mechanisms
for the advancement of women.
9. Human rights of women.
10. Women and the media.
11. Women and the environment.
12. The girl child.
1: Ethiopia – projected population (1999)
Zone
Total population Female (%)
Urban
9 074 000
50.4
he
hTable Rural
52 598 000
49.7
Total
61 672 000
49.8
objectives of the policy are to:
tThe
Guarantee women equal rights with men.
Amend laws which adversely affect women’s
social, cultural and economic conditions.

Ethiopia
i
12
E
agencies operate at each of these levels of
aGovernment and they all have women’s affairs igovernment
departis
(the federal and Woreda levels), and gender focal
s (at the
Kebele level).
inment
iments
ipoints
The horizontal axis shows a system of co-ordinapof
of gender-in-development activities among ption pzpns,
government
agencies, non-governmental and civil society organi-
ations, educational research institutions (particularly
ddis Ababa University), and a number of international
notably USAID, Save the Children, UNESCO,
pApAbaba
pies,
pagencies,
UNICEF, WHO, FAO and the World Bank.
Ethiopia’s policy guidelines and the institutional
for the implementation of the policy seem
be guided by a coherent philosophy, whose underlying
rinciples
oarrangements
oguided
oto
opoiples are:
Education for overall human development, with
very special emphasis on the integration of
women into the development process.
Gender-in-development, with the development
of women as the key element.
General guidelines, capacity-building, co-ordination
at the federal level.
Practical development operational activities at
the level of the regions and other decentralized
administrative structures.
Inter-agency collaboration.
Close collaboration between government agencies
and all other development partners.

Ethiopia
14
E
Women’s
Affairs
Departments
Government
agencies
NGOs/Civil
Society
Organizations
Institutions
International
Agencies
Regions
Woreda
Kebele
Prime Minister’s
Office
Education
Agriculture
Industries
Environment
Health
Communications
Water
Resources
Labour and
Social Welfare
Youth, Sports
and Culture
BEN:
Basic Education
Network
FAWE:
Forum for
African Women
Educationalists
CDRA:
Christian
Development
and Relief
Association
Addis Ababa
University
(Centre for
Education
Research and
Training on
Women in
Development
CERTWID)
USAID
UNICEF
UNESCO
Save the
Children
WHO
FAO
World Bank
Fig. 1.
Vertical and horizontal co-ordination of gender-in-development activities
in Ethiopia

E15
E
Formal education
An educated girl is likely to become
• A more competent mother.
• A knowledgeable family planner.
• A more productive and better
* paid worker.
• An informed citizen.
• A skilled decision-maker.
• A self confident individual
[By courtesy of UNICEF]
One major characteristic of the on-the-ground operation
of the Ethiopian experience is that literacy and educa-
tion are considered as the bedrock of all programmes of
women-in-development.
Low literacy rates and poor access to formal edu-
cation are among the issues that Ethiopia has tried to
in the past decade through: (a) ETP: Education
and Training Policy (1994); (b) ESDP: Education Sector
Development Programme (1997–2001); and (c) ESDP II
taddress
(2002–2006).
These programmes have resulted in a progressive
improvement in net primary enrolment over the years, as
There is a system of annual co-ordination meetings at
various levels, at which ongoing activities are critically
The Prime Ministers’ Office organizes such
meetings with the regions and the sectoral ministries.
Each sectoral ministry holds similar meetings with spe-
ireviewed. cialized bureaux in the regions, while the regions relay the
co-ordination meetings to the Woreda, and the Woreda to
the Kebele. . NGOs and other development partners are also
fully involved in these programme review meetings.
E thiopia
i

Ethiopia
i
16
E
2 illustrates. The table also shows that improved
aTable
net enrolment for both sexes has still not narrowed the
gender gap. It has, in fact, widened it.
are wide regional variations in gender parity
ier
iThere
iat the primary level: 0.5 in the Somali region, 1 in Addis
Ababa, a, and 0.7 as the national average.
The system is also characterized by wide urban–
rural Girls tend to be more disadvantaged in
(primary net enrolment in 2001 = 45.5 per cent
rban girls and 37.9 per cent rural girls). The figures for
et enrolment for boys show an interesting trend: 54.6
pdisparities.
pareas
prural
pupn
pnpnrolment
per cent urban and 62.1 per cent rural.
2. Ethiopia – net primary enrolment rates
Year
Boys
Girls
Total
oe
oTable
o(percentage)
1996/1997
1997/1998
1998/1999
1999/2000
2000/2001
29.5
43.0
44.9
51.2
55.7
20.0
28.0
31.9
36.6
41.7
24.9
36.0
39.5
44.0
48.8
Source: Education Statistics Abstracts: 2000-2001
Improving the participation of girls in primary education
an ongoing concern, and measures to address the his
probhall
fall into the following major categories:
hoving
hongoing
hlem
Research and studies to enlighten issues and
guide policy and practice.
Awareness raising.
Dissuasion of traditional practices that affect
the education of girls (for example, marriage by
adoption, or MBA).
Policy interventions (example: the 1 : 1 textbook
ratio policy in favour of girls).

Ethiopia
18
E
Poverty reduction (including revenue generation
activities for women).
Social and political empowerment (including the
promotion of access to decision-making positions).
Strengthening of women organizations (including
organizational/institutional capacity- building).
Improved participation of women in specific
sectors: industry, agriculture, education, culture,
science and technology, politics, etc.
A synopsis of the areas of focus:
achievements and challenges of selected
agencies/institutions/organizations
involved in mainstreaming gender
into development activities in Ethiopia
Prime Minister’s Office
national level co-ordination, between government
agencies, with all partners, and among the
ionsibilities:
iResponsibilities:
three levels of government.
Achievements: the national policy on women, specific provisions
on women in the Constitution, family laws
at the federal level (laws at the regional level in
progress), gender mainstreaming in education and
all social sector development policies, civil service
reforms, incorporating maternity leave and affirmative
action in favour of women, and progressive
attitude change in society.
Inadequate financial and human resources.
enges:
tChallenges:
Ministry of Health
mainstreaming gender into the policies,
programmes and activities of the Health Sector.
Eonsibilities:
EResponsibilities:

E19
E
Achievements: mainstreaming gender into the Heath Sector
Development Programme (HSDP), advocacy/gender
and sensitization training and affirma-
tive action within the ministry, studies on junior
midwives, traditional birth attendants, and women
iawareness
traditional healers and care-givers.
Challenges: poor level of staffing, pockets of resistance,
even among women.
Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare
Responsibilities: addressing women-specific issues in the
labour force (employment opportunities, workplace
hazards, and rights of women workers).
Achievements: a functioning network arrangement with
women’s affairs departments at the regional
level, compilation of Basic Statistical Data and
Women’s Profile, studies on HIV and the factory
survey of women’s self-help groups, and
NGO social services, production of an advocacy
manual.
tworker,
Challenges: need for more in-depth training, limited financial
resources.
Ministry of Water Resources
Responsibilities: promoting gender specific water issues.
Achievements:
regular training programmes technical
experts at the regional level on gender analysis
techniques and gender and water issues generally,
training of staff of the ministry on assertiveness
and gender awareness.
Challenges: wrong perception of gender in the ministry,
departments sending ‘inappropriate staff’ for train-
ing programmes.
E thiopia
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Ethiopia
i
20
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Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture
Gender mainstreaming within the department
and its various organs and services.
vements: capacity building and gender awareness
ionsibilities:
iResponsibilities:
iAchievements:
creation, a wide variety of studies (women and
culture, women participation in journalism, stereotypes
on women in oral literature, analysis of the
culture policy from a gender perspective, women
and reading).
enges: lack of appropriate follow-up to the studies.
pChallenges:
Ministry of Agriculture
women farmers and women professional
agriculturists as primary targets.
vements: ensuring that women are specifically targeted
in the five-year development agricultural sector
development plan, ensuring women participa-
oonsibilities:
oResponsibilities:
oAchievements:
tion — and that they do benefit as equal partners — in
agricultural extension services, baseline data to generate
information for mainstreaming women issues
in agricultural sector activities, research and technology
generation for the benefit of women farmers,
regular training programmes on gender issues
for agriculture sector staff, promotion – capacity
building – organization of women professional in
agriculture.
‘It’s not an easy job’.
hChallenges:
Addis Ababa (regional) Education Department
onsibilities: promotion of girls’ education.
vements: annual scholarships for girls scoring a
tResponsibilities:
tAchievements:
GPA of 3.6 and above in primary school certificate
examinations – 94 awards in 2000 and 236 in
200l/2002, special tutorials by ninety-seven educa-

E21
E
FAWE - Forum for African Women Educationalists
high-level advocacy, social mobilization, and
capacity-building in favour of girls’ and women’s
participation in education. iMission:
ihigh-level
Activities: a functioning national organization of committed
women educationalists, research to enlighten govern-
ment policy, annual prize awards, bursary for girls
(some 1,200 awards over the years), promotion of girls’
participation in mathematics and science, counselling
and assertiveness training for girls and women.
Challenges: ‘There is still a lot more to be done’.
CRDA - Catholic Relief and Development
Association
Mission: an umbrella organization of 215 local and inter-
national NGOs providing a more enabling environment
for NGOs to work effectively.
tion bureaux, to enhance the achievement of girls
in mathematics and the natural sciences.
low level of awareness at the grass-roots level,
‘gender gap not getting narrower’.
iChallenges:
ilow
Oromia (regional) Education Bureau
Responsibilities: working closely with women bureaux in
all other sectors to promote the education of girls.
Achievements: gender awareness training for teachers in
cluster schools, for relay to satellite schools, and
even to mobile schools, assertiveness training for
women teachers, provision of desks to schools, as
reward for promoting the retention of girls, tutorial
services to female students.
Challenges: retention still a major problem, regional dis-
parities in the participation of girls still strong.
E thiopia

Ethiopia
22
E
vements: capacity building for members, functioning
networking arrangements for improved gov-
aAchievements:
ernment–NGO relationships, task force on PRSP
– poverty reduction strategy programme, gender
working group as a cross-cutting concern, regular
training programmes on a variety of gender issues
(reproductive health, gender analysis, lobbying
skills, rights-based approach to human development,
leadership skills for women).
enges: ‘Capacity building is not an easy task’.
pChallenges:
BEN - Basic Education Network
a forum for experiences and ideas sharing for a
collective voice and action in the realization of the
EFA agenda.
networking of some twenty member organizations
(local NGOs), working on a variety of
oon:
oMission:
oAchievements:
special-need areas: the disabled, pastoralists, the
urban poor, rural communities, etc.
enges: resource constraints.
iChallenges:
CERTWID - Centre for Education Research and
Training
on Women in Development
Mission: research and training to enhance capacity to prohmoting
the full participation of women in development.
hon:
hAchievements/activities:
vements/activities: (a) research – a research agenda
covering women in the labour force, women and the
law, women in the media, women and education,
women, health, population and development and
rural women; (b) training: undergraduate courses
on gender issues, one credit master’s degree course
on the subject, (full-scale graduate programmes
in the pipeline), assertiveness training to women

E23
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students, regular open forum on gender issues; (c)
grants to bachelor’s and masterss degree students
projects on gender-related topics; and (d) lob-
bying of academic departments to integrate gender
into their programmes.
ifor
Challenges: limited capacity, due to lack of full-time staff
and high staff turnover.
Conclusions and major lessons
he most interesting point about the Ethiopian expe-
T
rience is the government’s strong commitment to
women and gender issues, as seen in the prominence
given to these issues in the country’s Constitution, in the
development of a National Policy on Ethiopian Women,
and in entrusting the co-ordination of women-in-develop-
programmes to the Office of the Prime Minister.
Related to this is the fact that women’s and girls’
education is being promoted as an integral part of the
iment nation’s development agenda, hence the full integration
of women-in-development issues into the work and pro-
grammes of all sectoral departments and at all levels of
government.
Ethiopia has also come up with an ambitious co-ordi-
nation mechanism, which seeks to consolidate the efforts
of all partners, in different places and at different levels.
all, Ethiopia has had a long-serving Woman
Minister of Education, who is a founding member of FAWE
(Forum for African Women Educationalists) and an activist
tAbove
on girls’ and women’s education.
This situation has certainly worked in favour of
Women’s and Girls’ Education, in that it has contributed to:
E thiopia
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Ethiopia
24
E
Raising awareness among different classes in
society.
Building capacity at different levels.
Progressively narrowing the gender gap, especially
at the basic education level.
Improving the level of awareness of the magnitude
of the problems involved in enhancing the
status of women in general, and in improving
the participation of girls and women in education
in particular.
Above everything else, putting women-in-education
to its proper policy pedestal, that of a high
priority area of national development.
Negative attitudes to the
emancipation of women
can also be feminine.
Ethiopian experience is, however, still facing a number
of challenges.
Co-ordination with NGOs would require a great
ithiopian
iThe
iallenges.
i
deal of improvement. While the major NGOs are
making efforts to co-ordinate their activities,
and while a good number of them have built up
capacity for operating at the grass-roots level,
they seem to have a strong feeling that government
is not fully utilizing their potentials. This
feeling is strongest in the case of government
activities outside the formal education sector.
The research activities of the sectoral departments
seem to have yielded knowledge that
can be ploughed back to the process of curriculum
material development. Those responsible
for the research admitted, however, that
these research projects were not carried out in

The context
he situation of women and girls in education in the
T
Kingdom of Swaziland can best be understood in the
wider national context revolving around specific socio-his-
torical and demographic factors.
Over the years, women in Swazi society have
become accustomed to being heads of households, a
as a
result of the migration of the men folk to the mines of
South Africa. They have, in the process, sought to acquire the basic skills needed for their changing roles. They have also in the process tried to pass on the same skills to the
girl-child, as preparation for their own adult roles.
w
Therefore, there has traditionally been a practice of
driving girls hard in the course of their upbringing. This
practice seems to have impacted on the ways in which par- ents have pursued the formal education of the girl-child.
A major political action taken over the years was the attainment of Universal Primary Education as far back
Swaziland
d
Swaziland:
apparent gender
n
balance napparent
27S

1985. The approach to the development of basic das has, since then, been more or less ‘gender neutral’
in terms of access), with most of the efforts on
edu-
addressing the problems of relevance and quality.
terms of demography, there are more females
males in all segments of the population, as shown in
ncation
n.
n(i.e.
ndressing
nIn
nthan 1.
1. Swaziland – general population structure
Male Female Total Female (%)
able
aTable
able
aTable
waziland
5–29il
28
4
5–14
l0–
50–64
65 and above
il15–29
i0–49
i0–64
i5
i 30–49
zilaAge Range
zTotal
67 529
137 176
113 207
71 439
25 882
11 538
440 154
68 868
139 556
141 764
91 575
29 220
15 957
489 564
136 397
276 732
254 973
163 014
55, 072
29 495
929 718
51.51
50.43
55.60
56.18
53.06
58.03
52.66
Source: Report of the 1997 Swaziland Population and Housing Census
and girls in education
formal system
aWomen
aTahe
figures for primary education (Table 2) give
impression that the gender gap is narrow. A more
fundamental interpretation, however, is that girls are still
in primary education. This is because
numerical superiority within the school-age wtheir wtion
popula-
is hardly reflected in the overall primary enrolment
wrolment
wEnrolment
we
wthe
wndamental
wderrepresented
wunderrepresented
weir
statistics. tistics.

Table 2. Swaziland – primary school enrolment: 2000
Grade
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Total
Boys
20 033
18 678
18 625
15 820
14 097
12 592
10 599
110 444
Girls
17 675
16 401
16 544
15 343
14 187
12 600
10 738
103 542
Total
37 708
35 079
35 169
31 213
28 284
25 196
21 337
213 986
Table 2 provides some evidence of a higher attrition rate
boys as well as a more impressive completion rate a phenomenon which makes an equitable gender
representation in the last three grades of primary educa-
ifor igirls, tion. This point is, to a certain extent, supported by Table
3, which shows examination entry figures for the years
2000 and 2001.
The most interesting points emerge from Table 4,
which shows the performances of boys and girls in the
terminal examinations at the end of primary and junior
secondary education. For both years, girls have a higher
success rate than boys.
Swaziland
and
Girls (%)
46.88
46.75
47.04
49.32
50.16
50.03
50.33
48.39
Table 3. Examination entries for 2000 and 2001
Group
Boys
Girls
Total
Girls (%)
Primary
(2000)
10 235
10 394
20 629
50.3
Primary
(2001)
9 964
9 962
19 926
49.99
Junior
secondary
(2000)
4 166
3 910
8 076
48.42
Junior
secondary
(2001)
4 634
4 345
8 979
48.39
29S
Planning Division, Ministry of Education, Mbabane
lSource:

waziland
Boysn
30
4. Examination success rates
dTable
Junior
secondary
(2000)
for boys and girls
Primary Primary
(2000) (2001)
82.90
82.40
76.81
n(percentage)
86.30
85.51
81.61
84.61
84.46
79.14
anGroup
aGirls
aOverall
Junior
secondary
(2001)
73.50
77.91
75.63
Source: Exams Council of Swaziland
5, which gives the latest available enrolment figures
for secondary schooling, shows a 50: 50 participation rate
both boys and girls.
lble
lTable
lsecondary
lboth
lfor
ble 5. in secondary school enrolment (1997–2000)
iTable
Year Boys Girls Total Girls (%)
1997
29 020
29 177
58 197
50.13
1998
30 228
30 602
60 630
50.31
1999
30 741
30 825
61 566
50.07
2000
30 003
30 252
60 253
50.20
There is still the culture
and belief in many schools
that some subjectsare
aziTrend strictly for girls while
others are for boys.
Apparent gender balance
what extent does the picture just painted amount
gender balance in participation in basic education in
wpparent
wwhat
wTo
wgender
wto
Swaziland? Some operators of the system believe that the

Pregnancy continues to be a leading cause for dropping out
of school of most teen-age girls. 27 per cent of hospital deliv-
eries are 15–19 year old girls. Efforts have been made by
different organizations working with youth, but the impact is
hardly measurable, as more girls drop out of school because
of pregnancy. Young girls are faced with many challenges
as they follow their line of growth from puberty to teenage
stage and young adults. The home environment is not sup-
portive. Proper education and counselling is something that
homes do not offer.
Swaziland
31S
situation is one of ‘apparent gender balance’. In the early
years of secondary education, girls are in the majority, but
the table turns in favour of the boys in later years.
In the 1999 school year, for example, girls constituted
51.71 per cent of children in the first year of secondary
education. In the fifth year, the proportion of girls
was 46.22 per cent. The corresponding proportions for
the year 2000 were 52.6 per cent girls in the first year and
48.60 per cent in the fifth year.
In addition, girls in Swaziland are still subject to
the negative influences on girls’ education, which are at
work in other countries of Africa. Thus, poverty, pockets
of resistance to Western education (and particularly negative
attitudes to schooling for girls), gender stereotyping
in the choice of careers and areas of study, unwanted
pregnancies, etc., are still stark realities in the country. As
is very well known, these factors contribute to non-enrolment,
drop-out, irregular attendance, repetition, and poor
performance among girls.
The threat of teenage pregnancy
Extracts from FAWESWA, Needs Assessment
Report on Teenage/Young Mothers, November 2000

waziland
32
and incentives
dInterventions
Like most African countries, Swaziland is pursuing
steady programme of encouragement to the education
of and girls, and the following are the key areas of
in that regard.
Bursary awards to children in difficult circumstances,
with special attention to girls. nteady
na
nwomen
nervention
nintervention
n
Guidance and counselling for both in-school and
out-of-school girls, comprising activities in the
areas of education, health (including HIV/AIDS),
psychological testing.
Parent counselling on the needs of the girl-child
(with the support of FAWE and UNICEF).
Public enlightenment, through radio programmes,
leaflets, focus group discussions, etc.
Science, mathematics and technology clinics for
girls, with the assistance of FAWE (Forum for
African Women Educationalists).
Encouraging teen-age mothers to return to
school.
Regular exposure of curriculum developers,
school administrators and teachers to the ABC
of Gender.
The ongoing enrichment of curriculum materials
through the elimination of gender bias.
Development and encouragement of the nonformal
route to basic education.
The non-formal route
provision of non-formal education in Swaziland is
by the work of the Sabenta National Institute,
whe
we
wThe
wemplified
wexemplified
which has been in existence for some forty years.

is a highly decentralized institution that operates
nine centres spread throughout the country. It is run
by regional officers fully utilizing the traditional admin-
iSabenta iin istrative and political structure (traditional chiefs, inner
councils, rural development motivators, head teachers,
and community leaders) in the development and conduct
of its programmes.
There are two parallel programmes (Siswati and English)
and these operate at three levels: (a) basic literacy; functional
a
literacy; and (c) AUPE (Adult Upper Primary Education).
The functional literacy programme teaches a wide range of life skills: sewing, carpentry, computer opera-
tions, weaving, hair-dressing, poultry farming, horticul-
ture, catering, etc. Available statistics show that these
w
pro-
grammes have been women dominated. In the year 2000,
for example, the total enrolment was 4,074 and 2,587 (i.e.
63.50 per cent) were women.
AUPE is intended to provide: (a) adults with the opportunity to progress beyond conventional literacy and
numeracy; (b) adults with the means of achieving a quali-
Swaziland
d
Many girls drop out of school before the last grade of primary education. Many more do not go to school n
at
all. Poverty and early pregnancies prevent others from
into the formal basic education system. The non-
formal route, provided by Sabenta, has been trying to fill this vacuum for both boys/girls and men/women.
nfitting There are 222,000 Swazi
who are unable to read,
write and count – one
of whom could be your
relative. Ask for a form at
the information desk and
as many people as
with Sabenta, your
literacy provider.
lregister lpossible
33S

waziland
34
fication equivalent to the Swaziland Primary Certificate
dfication
7), as a gateway to further learning; and (c) an
for children aged 13 and over to rejoin the
education system.
n(grade
nportunity
nopportunity
nmal
nformal
and major lessons
aonclusions
aConclusions
W
enrolment figures show some cause for hope,
it can still not be said that gender balance has been
achieved in basic education in Swaziland.
There seem to be more girls out of school, at all
lahile
lhieved
l
levels, even when the enrolment figures show
that there could be more girls in school.
In percentage terms, girls are performing better
than boys in primary and junior secondary certificate
examinations. A larger proportion of the
girls however tends to withdraw before the final
examination years of high school.
Most girls are still restricted to studying the
‘soft option’ subjects, and this has limited the
access of girls to scientific and technical disciplines
in higher institutions.
Poverty at the household level is still a hindrance
to access to basic education, and girls have
remained the sacrificial lambs in the hard choices
that parents have to make in deciding whether
the boy or girl child should go to school.
The non-formal route (particularly AUPE) is
fee-paying, and therefore portends a potential
obstacle to women from low-income families.
Teenage pregnancy and the spread of HIV/AIDS

After gaining independence from Portugal in
Mozambique waged a bitter civil war that laste
teen years. The country has been engaged, however, in a
steady process of consolidation of democracy and socio-
reconstruction since the signing of a peace
accord, and the holding of the first multi-party elections
in 1992.
aeconomic An essential part of the reconstruction process is a
national education policy (Política Nacional de Educaçã
o),
published in 1995, which identified basic education and
adult literacy as the ‘topmost priority of the government’.
The policy has since given birth to an Education Sector
Strategic Plan 1999–2003, the first priority of which is
‘increased access to educational opportunities, at all lev-
els of the education system’.
Mozambique
M37M
Mozambique:
u
Inclusion
and participation
The context
m
fter gaining independence from Portugal in 1975,
Mozambique waged a bitter civil war that lasted six-

Mozambique
M38
M
Expanded partnerships
central goal is accelerated progress towards universal
schooling, with particular emphasis on increasqprimary
ing enrolment among girls. Accomplishing this goal would
the participation of all Mozambicans – parents, qrequire qmunities,
com-
employers, NGOs, religious organizations – and
qhe
qThe
qrimary
qng
qequire
government’s international partners as well. In the future
the Mozambican educational system will comprise a diverse
array of institutions – public and private, formal and nonformal
– supported by provisions from and governed in col-
laboration with stakeholders. This implies a new vision of the
Ministry of Education’s role, and greatly expanded roles of
other actors as they assume a greater share of responsibility
in the system.
Extracts from Mozambique
Education Sector Strategic Plan, 1999–2003
The women-in-education policy
in practice
Formal education
Net enrolment figures for the seven years of primary education
(EP1, or first cycle – 5 years and EP2; or second cycle
– 2 extra years) for the year 2001 show that 46 per cent
of first-grade children were girls. The proportion of girls,
however, decreases steadily through the higher grades,
down to 39 per cent in the seventh grade (see Table 1).

M39
M
The drop-out rate is relatively high among the girls,
but the reverse is true of repetition rate. The 2001 school
survey recorded 641,072 repeaters at the primary level.
Of this figure, 284,536 (44.38 per cent) were girls.
Access to basic education is characterized by
regional disparities, as shown in Table 2. Regions with
relatively high enrolment rates also tend to record relatively
high girls’ participation rates. This phenomenon has
been explained in terms of a combination of socio-cultural
and historical factors.
In some regions, initiation rites are followed
by boys returning to school, while the girls are
considered ripe for marriage.
Some parts of the country were more intensively
exposed to Christian missionary educational
influences than others.
Some areas also suffered more severely from
the post-independence civil war than others.
Table 1. Mozambique: primary school enrolment – 2001
Grade
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Total
Total enrolment
844 732
607 356
475 903
338 374
242 246
152 696
109 438
2 770 745
Number of girls
396 451
269 761
203 225
139 299
94 191
60 006
42 903
1 205 836
Mozambique
Girls (%)
46.92
44.42
42.70
41.17
38.88
39.30
39.20
43.52
Source: Annual School Survey – 2001
Gender parity is more noticeable in the larger cities. In the
capital (Maputo) and the administrative region around it,
there are in fact more girls than boys in primary schools.

Mozambique
2. Regional trends in net enrolment rates
– 2001
uble
uTable
u(percentage)
M/F Boys Girls Difference
C Delgado
54.1
59.6
48.7
0.9
02 Gaza
71.7
72.0
71.5
0.5
Inhambane
71.0
71.4
70.6
0.8
Manica
58.1
64.3
52.2
12.1
Maputo
80.6
80.1
81.0
– 0.9
q1
q01
q2
q3
q03
q4
q04
q5
q05
06 Nampula
47.3
51.1
43.4
0.7
07 Niassa
58.3
63.5
53.1
10.4
08 Sofala
54.3
60.8
47.8
12.0
09 Tete
55.9
59.9
51.9
8.0
10 Zambezia
61.7
68.3
55.0
13.3
11 1 C Maputo
86.2
84.8
87.6
– 3.2
Mai (mothers) and Pai
biquProvince
(fathers) drawn
from the local community
and from older students
have proved very effective
as counsellors.
Policy interventions and incentives
commitment to the promotion of girls’ and
education is part of its adherence to an SADC
alicy
azambique’s
aMozambique’s
amen’s to enhance women’s participation in zdeclaration
educazn,
tion, in public life, and in decision-making positions. In
he basic education sector this commitment is pursued
through zawomen’s
zlaration
ztzbasic a wide range of interventions and incentives:
M40
M
Gender units, focal points, and working groups.
The Special Adviser to the Minister of Education
on gender issues leads a team of specialists
who constitute the gender unit at the central
level. Similar structures (known as gender focal
points) are at work at the provincial and district

Mozambique
M42
M
Poverty reduction measures. Free tuition and
free books in primary schools, and in many
places, the provision of potable water to schools
and their host communities
Decentralization of the management of basic
education. Through the division of administrative
districts into a number of areas with identical
education needs known as ZIPs (Zona do
Influenco Pedagógico), and the establishment
of school councils, intended to ‘devolve school
daily business o communities, parents, NGOs,
respected citizens and community leaders’.
Curriculum enrichment. A new curriculum is
being piloted in twenty-nine schools nationwide,
and is expected to come fully on board
in 2004. Its objectives are to: (a) eliminate gender
stereotypes in the content and activities
of textbooks; (b) enhance gender sensitivity among
teachers; (c) enhance assertiveness among girls;
and (d) enhance gender awareness among boys.
Head teachers have to
acknowledge
that schools really belong
to the communities.
A tale of two pilot schools
gender pilot schools concept is intended to boost the
enrolment ztale
zgender
zThe and retention of girls in basic education, and
the examples below illustrate the joys and the chal-
enges of the experiment.
Muda-Mufo otwo
ologes (during the colonial period) a catholic mission,
school, Muda-Mufo was upgraded after inde-
Mginally
MOriginally
M-teacher
Mone-teacher

M43
M
pendence by the Sofala provincial and the Nhamatanda
district education authorities, with the support of UNESCO
and the World Bank.
It was closed between 1981 and 1984, due to the
civil war. Reopened in 1995, it became part of a national
pilot project for the enhancement of the participation of
girls in primary education. The major thrust of the project
was the involvement of the local community and the
sensitization of society to the need for girls’ education.
Community involvement was in membership of the school
council, the provision of six classrooms, using local mate-
rials, the preparation of school meals.
There has been increased in enrolment over the
years In 1996, the school had 345 children, made up of:
m
220 boys and 125 girls (i.e. 36 per cent girls). In 2002,
total enrolment was 1,298 – 834 boys and 464 girls
(i.e. 36 per cent girls).
Learning activities in the school are closely linked with poverty reduction; hence students are involved in practical work in the following areas: poultry farming,
green zone protection, sewing and typewriting.
are provided for teachers on the school
premises, while the school has a health centre and solar
electricity. Sixty-eight of the pupils (forty-eight boys and
aHouses twenty girls) live in the boarding facilities provided within
the school.
The school still faces the problems of shortage of
classrooms, while some children travel as much as 50–60
kilometres to the school. Only two of the eighteen teach-
ers are women.
Mozambique
Estoril
The school is housed in rehabilitated structures a few kilo-
metres outside Beira, capital of Sofala province. It operates a

double shift system, and only at the senior primary level.
1,565 pupils, 708 boys and 717 (i.e.45.8 % girls)
1,565 pupils, there are758 boys and 717 girls
(i.e.45.8 uIts
% girls)
headship of the school always conferred on women,
n with government policy, and with the inten-
tion q45.8
qheadship
qThe
qiqkeeping of providing role models for girl children. The school
been adjudged successful in the mobilizing of the
ibeen
ihas for the maintenance of
bicommunity infrastructure, and of
fully mobilized for the production/adaptation of
teaching–learning materials.
Mufo is a rural environment while Estoril is
bchers
bteachers
bching–learning
bMuda
the select suburbs of a provincial capital city. The 35
girl participation rate in Muda Mufo is consid-
an ‘improvement’ by persons familiar with the harsh
socio-economic terrain of the school. Child marriages are
in the area. The school is also located along
he ‘Beira corridor’, a transnational trade route that lures
villagers (including girls), in search of an escape
mbin
mcent
mper
md
mered
mio-economic
mrampant
mstill
mtm‘Beira
mng
from rural poverty, to the neighbouring countries
of Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as to the cities of
amyoung
ate
aroute
aZambia
azambique.
aMozambique.
Mozambique
non-formal sector
Mozambique ze
zThe has a national strategy for the literacy
sub-sector (Estratégia do Subsector de
ão e Educação de Adultos/educação NãooAlfabetizaç
) that runs from 2001-2005, the priority areas of
which onon-formal
oand
omal)
oFormal)
are:
M44
M
Continuous review of policies and strategies,
including systematic monitoring and evaluation.

Mozambique
M46
M
Regular/professional teachers also used.
NGOs very active, especially at the grass-roots
level.
Diplomas are awarded as incentives – EP1 (fifth
grade equivalent), allowing persons who so
desire to rejoin the formal sector.
Literacy is not enough;
it must help to alleviate
poverty.
illiteracy rate for the country is 60.5 per
cent, while the illiteracy rate for women is 74.1 per cent.
lliteracy is being tackled through a network of 1,162
boverall
bThe
bt,
bIberacy
iteracy and adult education centres. Women seem to be
to the call to acquire literacy and life skills,
they form approximately half of registered students in
these centres (Table 3). The figures represent persons duly
egistered and attending classes as at June 2001.
3. Mozambique – Enrolment in adult education
mblbracy
mponding
mresponding
mhey
mas
mse
mrmstered
mble
mTable
and literacy classes – 2001
Year
I
II
III
Total
Total enrolment
72 602
49 516
31 024
153 142
Women
40 941
25 313
14 769
81 023
Women (%)
56.39
51.12
47.61
52.91
NGOs for practical matters;
government for long-term
perspective guidance.
There has been a steady evolution in the approach
the provision of adult literacy and non-formal educa-
Until 1978, the emphasis was on reading–writing–
Mhe
Mto
Mn.
Mtion.

Mozambique
M48
M
Gender sensitization is an ongoing activity and the
level of awareness is believed to be steadily rising.
Girls and women are embracing literacy and nonformal
basic education and are more strongly
represented in ongoing programmes than men.
nation’s pursuit of gender equality in education is
also qThe facing a number of challenges:
Regional disparities are a feature of the system.
Girls’ participation in formal basic education
is steadily improving, but this is related to the
extent to which schooling is embraced in specific
localities. With the pilot projects, for example,
rural pilot schools are believed to be making
an improvement when barely 36 per cent of
learners are girls.
The pockets of resistance to Western education
and to schooling by girls are still quite strong,
while poverty is an inhibiting factor to decisions
by families to invest in the education of girls.
Resources are scarce, as the country has numerous
other areas of human welfare needing attention.
the fact still remains that Mozambican zHowever,
authorizare
ties are seriously rebuilding the nation. Education (and
basic education for women and girls) is an
integral zwever,
zticularly
zparticularly element of this national rebuilding exercise.
The ongoing EFA master planning process should be an
for consolidating the gains already made, for
a frontal attack strategy on the major challenges
and, oongoing
oortunity
oopportunity
oigning
odesigning most especially, the question of regional disparities
attitudes to education in general and to the education
girls and women in particular.
Mttitudes
Min
Mgirls
Mof

urkina Faso
50
Girls’ Education Conference of FAAPE: Federation
of African Parents-Teachers Associations (2001).
The International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education
sThe
Africa (CIEFFA) has since taken off, with Ouagadougou
capital of Burkina Faso) as its headquarters.
statistics show that access to basic education
is still low in Burkina Faso. Only 901,291 of the
ain
a(the
aAvailable
is still low in Burkina Faso. Only 901,291 of the
age population of 2,110,395 (i.e. 42.7 per cent) are
school, and only 36.2 per cent of these are girls. The
gap is approximately 10 percentage points in the
urban Facation Fschool
Fin Fgender
centres and 12 in the rural areas. There are wide
regional variations in access to primary education. The
enrolment rate in the province around the capital city
20 per cent, while that of the most under-schooled prov-
(Komandjari) is a mere 13.5 per cent.
Faso also has one of the lowest literacy
anet
ais aince
aBurkina the Africa region. UNESCO’s estimates for 1995
a national average illiteracy rate of 80.8 per cent
– 90.8 per cent for women and 70.5 per cent for men.
challenges of bridging the wide gender gap in
access nrates nshow
n–
nThe
to education were recognized in the ten-year action
of 1993, which addressed the issues from six fronts,
iplan follows:
Action-research, involving insightful analyses
of the major problems and the search for viable
solutions.
kias
Sensitization and mobilization, with the involvement
of NGOs.
Teacher education, including gender-sensitivity
training.
Special incentives: free textbooks for girls,
improvement of the school environment, special
admission quotas, housing for teachers, etc.
Collaboration with other government depart-

urkina Faso
52
competence
element of the beauty of the NGOs visited in Burkina
is their simple (flat) organizational structure. Even
sOrganizational sAn relatively large NGOs, with a wide geographical and
coverage (e.g. Promo Femmes) have very few per-
on their permanent pay roll, and seem to depend as
as possible on volunteers.
asFaso athe aactivity
asons
amuch
as possible on volunteers.
The NGOs have also ingeniously adopted the tradi-
Groupement concept, thus using as rallying points
social structures already in place. This enables them
Famuch Ftional
Fthe Fto use the real beneficiaries of their programmes also as
agents of change. It also makes participatory management
possible. The ‘ Groupement’ is also the basis for organizing
into ‘co-operatives’ for the management of their
development projects.
Outreach awomen aown
capacity
NGOs studied target the social classes that are in
need, women in general, but more particularly
urban and rural women, the handicapped, widows,
nThe
ngreatest npoor unskilled, the unemployed.
A second angle to the outreach capacity of the
NGOs inthe
lies in the wide range of activities they are engaged
promoting literacy, developing women’s organizations,
skills for income generation, health promotion,
security, nature and water conservation, etc.
kin:
kimproving kfood on the social,
and economic empowerment
rEmphasis rpolitical girls and women
wide range of activities carried out by Burkinabé NGOs
favour of women is geared towards the goal of educa-
for self-development and empowerment, in all its
Thus, there is emphasis on human rights,
urof uThe
uin ution uramifications.

the financial independence of women, and the acquisition
of knowledge and skills.
Close link with local communities and their cultural milieu
The Groupement concept is utilized to its fullest. It is
the nucleus for the establishment of groups. It is also the
major determinant of the activities carried out in specific
locations. It also determines the choice of facilitators for
activities, and the methodology for the conduct
of such activities.
Peasants are also experts
Fspecific
in their own right.
Moreover, training programmes are carried out in tradi-
tional structures (homesteads, fields, traditional assembly
points, etc.), while the calendar of activities is made to fit
into women’s traditional free time.
Direct access with decentralized structures and with donors
The larger international NGOs (e.g. Catholic Relief Services,
Suisse d’Entraide Ouvrière, Promo Femmes) do
receive direct subventions from their external sponsors,
even though they also raise funds from other sources.
iOeuvre
i) The interesting point here is that the smaller NGOs
are also able to enlist the support of the in-country mis-
sions of donor agencies: ILO, FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF,
women and church groups in industrialized countries,
and various diplomatic missions. There are, in fact, exam-
ples of NGOs serving as executing agencies for eternally
funded girls education projects.
A good case here is Promo Femmes which, in 2002,
successfully made a bid for the management of a couple
of schools built for the state with World Bank assistance.
Promo Femmes also had an interesting co-operation
urkina Faso
53

A culture sensitive approach to the gender question
values are considered very important, and most
women education and empowerment programmes
the gospel of ‘Peace in the family’. The men folk
are aA
aFamily aNGO apreach made to accept the fact that an educated woman in an
to the family, and the women who become economi-
empowered are encouraged to use their resources to
their families.
nasset
ncally nsupport
A development-oriented view of literacy and education
iA NGOs studied promote the development, the emankiThe
kcipation, and the full empowerment of women. However,
and education are seen (correctly) as the founda-
and the bedrock of it all. This view has informed the
hierarchy kliteracy ktion
of women’s learning needs that most of the
have tried to promote, namely:
Basic literacy in the mother tongue, for the
rNGOs
r
rapid acquisition of reading–writing–calculation
in the language of the women’s daily life.
Basic literacy in French, for exposure to the official
language of government business in the country.
Functional literacy: reading–writing–calculation
urkina Faso
54
with ILO, which involved: (a) schooling for
orphaned young girls from very poor families; and (b)
education (literacy, gardening, poultry, other
sarrangement s100 skills) for 100 over-aged, but not yet
girls.
the size, the functions, and the level of compeasnon-formal
aincome-generating
amarriageable of these NGOs, they have been able to enlist the sup-
of persons and institutions responsible for governance
the local level. These include traditional and religious
FaWhatever Ftence
Fport Fat Fleaders, public servants, and elected representatives.

urkina Faso
56
parent–teacher associations to ensure that 40–60 per
of pupils are girls. In addition, these schools are scent Catholic Relief Services: Its Education Support
(Programme de Soutien à l’Éducation - ESP)
pro-
with separate toilet facilities for boys and girls.
sfor at raising the rate of school enrolment, encourage
attendance (particularly by girls), reducing drop-
asvided
aProgramme aaims rate, raising the level of success in primary education,
sensitive parents to their role in ensuring the educa-
of their children).
Faschool Fout
Fand Ftion In 2001, the organization intervened in the following
aareas:
School feeding. To encourage school attendance
and to improve performance of both boys and
girls. Working in collaboration with the Ministry
of Basic Education and Literacy (MEBA), the organization
distributed 16,000 tonnes of foodstuff to
400,000 children in 2,344 primary schools.
School health and nutrition. The distribution
of micro-nutrients, basic medicines to primary
school children, and the promotion of heath/
nutrition education, and the supply of medicine
kits to schools.
School infrastructure. Mobilizing local communities
through a ‘food for work’ arrangement. Twenty
primary schools were thus constructed in 2001.
‘Take Away’ Ration. At the end of every month,
Girls who attain 90 per cent school attendance
are given 10 kg of wheat flour, intended to help
the family in periods of food scarcity and to
raise self-confidence in girls as being useful to
the family. 4,000 girls, drawn from 135 schools,
benefited from this bonus in 2001.

urkina Faso
58
major lessons
sConclusions
sand
T
here is certainly a high level of awareness of the
need to bridge the wide gender gap in basic educa-
in Burkina Faso. This awareness is captured in the
ten-year strategic plan for the development
education. It is also taken as an area of concern by the
NGOs operating in the country.
Fation Fgovernment’s
Fof Fnumerous
NGOs are helping to extend the scope of coverage of
basic education activities, and are complementing the work
government in a number of ways. They seem to have a
strong potential for reaching the ’unreached’. They
seem to have acquired experience in linking basic
to overall human development activities, using
traditional aof
avery aalso aeducation organizational structures and collaborating with
local authorities and external support agencies.
They have, above all, approached the gender ques-
in a culture-sensitive manner, and they seem to be
winning, nboth
ntion
for as most of them said in the course of inter-
‘the men are also involved’.
iviews,
iAt the same time, to enhance the sustainability and
positive impact of the interesting activities currently
on, attention would have to be paid to a number of
challenges:
kthe
kgoing kmajor
Geographical coverage is still a problem. All
actors attest to the fact that some parts of the
country (among them areas in dire need) are
not covered by NGOs, while some other areas
(among them regions that are better off in terms
of access to basic education) experience an
over-concentration of NGO activities.
There is a general feeling that co-ordination and

urkina Faso
60
work to be done in Burkina Faso, to attain the goals
EFA (and more particularly, the gender equity–gender
goal – goal number V), is enormous. It requires
sThe sof all hands must be fully on deck. The EFA master athat
plan-
process is a wonderful opportunity to make this hap-
in an impactful manner.
asequality aning apen,

Ethiopia
Swaziland
E t h i o p i a
oSwaziland
Mozambique
Burkin
Faso
o
E
Swaziland
Mozambique
Burkin
a
Burkina Faso
s
sGeneral
nconclusions
a
Even though each of the four studies focused on
a specific angle to the enormous task involved
in promoting the education of women and girls,
there is a common thread running through them.
oven oa iin The following elements of this constitute the major les-
experiences.m
Burkin n
sons to be learned from the ongoing experiences.
1. The education of women and girls are really
part and parcel of a nation’s educational and
isons
i1. elo
ipart
a
overall social development issues. This holistic
places every micro-experiment in a wider
developmental context.
aoverall
anational
hview k
2. The existence of a broader policy framework (such
as a national constitution making appropriate
provisions for women’s issues, a national hnational
h2.
zas r
policy
on women-in-development, op
a strategic education
plan that targets the real concerns
rprovisions women and girls in education) helps to provide
tdevelopment
tof
oof u
a clearer focus for the development and manage-
ment of girls’ education programmes.
3. A data and research-generated knowledge base
is essential to ensure that programmes address
61B

E t h i o p i a
Ethiopia
62
ntSwaziland
Mozambique
Burkin
Faso
Swaziland
a
Mozambique
Burkin
a
Faso
Burkina Faso
the real issues, and that they are relevant to the
s
needs of specific groups of girls and women in
society.
4. Promoting the education of girls and women is
a multi-sectoral toral undertaking. a
Work done in all
other development sectors help to reinforce the
work done in the education sector, since they all
aa work towards the common gaol of mainstream-
development.Faso
Faso
ing women and gender issues in development.
5. Promoting the education of women and girls
is also a multi-agency, multi-interest-group
affair. The challenge here is to design appropri-
ate strategies es for harnessing the potentials of
every stakeholder.
late
a
6. The primary beneficiaries – women and girls – are the number one determinants orienta-a
of the orienta-
tion and content of programmes. The more they
iare n
– and their immediate communities – are treated
as ‘experts in their own rights’, the better.
7. Mainstreaming ing gender in education is likely
Burkin
to be more successful when ‘men are also
ito
a
involved’, since the promotion of women is the
promotion of both sexes. real-k
ainvolved’, k
8. In the African context, poverty is a stark real-
ity, and all efforts to promote the education
of women and girls must take poverty in its
stride.
a8. zof
r
9. Communication is a major problem. It inhibits
communication and collaboration stake-r
among stake-
holders and between African Member States.
Since there are a lot of opportunities inter-u
for inter-
oholders u
learning on ongoing activities, the area of
communication and networking deserves very
special attention.
n
Swaziland
ofSwaziland
hoSwaziland

a10.
athe E t h i o p i a
Swaziland
Mozambique
Burkin
Faso
Ethiopia
i
Swaziland
a
Mozambique
a
Faso
Burkina Faso
10. Age-old habits and attitudes die hard. Sensitizing
s
the populace (and this includes women and
who have benefited from modern edu-
has not been an easy task. A major challenge for the future is evolving ipersons
ication)
a
innovative
strategies for social mobilization in favour of
education of women girls.q
and girls.
achallenge Education (and most especially education for
and girls) is seen to be beneficial when
it directly and positively impacts on the qual-
ity of life for the direct beneficiaries, as well as
to pthe p11. pwomen their families and immediate communities.
another major challenge for the immedi-
lThus,
oThus, a
future is the search for innovative strate-
for linking education with poverty reduc- tion, alleviation and overall human well-being aate programmes.
oate
ogies
ition,
Burkin
n
In spite of the many ongoing activities in the region, a
great deal still has to be done to attain gender equity in
primary education by 2005, and gender equality in sec-
iIn
igreat ondary education by 2015, as recommended by the Dakar
iprimary EFA Forum of April, 2000.
aondary k
is, however, an opportunity that the Africa
region should not allow to slip by. This is the ongoing EFA
master planning process that t
should be used hThere
zregion
r
to develop
appropriate national strategies es
for moving the education
of girls and women to its desired destination.
rmaster
Faso
women and girls) is seen to be beneficial when
it directly and positively impacts on the qual- ity of life for the direct beneficiaries, as well as
tof girls and women to its desired destination.
63BGeneral conclusion
63B

Bibliography
Ethiopia
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65

Rose, P. et. al. 1997. Gender and Primary Schooling in Ethiopia. (IDS
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Swaziland
Central Statistical Office. Mbabane. 1998. Report on the 1997 Swaziland
Population and Housing Census. 3 vols.
Forum for African Women Educationalists – Swaziland – FAWESWA. 2001. The
Participation and Performance of Girls in Science and Mathematics and
Technical Subjects in Primary and Secondary Schools in Swaziland.
— 1999. Female Education in Mathematics and Science.
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Mozambique
66
Governo Da Provincia De Safala. Direccáo Provincial De Educacão. 2002.
Informacáo.
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Burkina Faso
A.P.E.E. 2002. Amélioration des Conditions d’Insertion des Enfants
Déficients Intellectuels au Burkina Faso.
Association Duddal Leydi Men. 2002. Projet d’Alphabétisation de Base et
de Formations Techniques Spécifiques.
BURKINA FASO. Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances. n.d. Répertoire
Synoptiques des ONG.
— Ministère de l’Enseignement de base et de l’Alphabétisation /
Ministère des Enseignements Secondaire, Supérieur et de la
Recherche Scientifique (1997), Plan Stratégique Décennal 1997–2006
de l’Éducation.
— 2000, 2001. Statistiques Scolaires 1999/2000 and 2000/2001.
— Ministère des Enseignements Secondaire, Supérieur et de la
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Catholic Relief Services. Programme du Burkina Faso, Rapport Annuel
d’Activités. 2001.
International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education. 2000. General
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12–14 July 2000.
Ouedraogo Salimata. 2002. Communication sur l’Égalité des Sexes dans
l’Éducation de Base, UNESCO, Réunion Régionale des Pays de la
CEDEAO, Accra, 18–20 février 2002.
Tamboura Adama. 2001. Rapport sur les Structures, Politiques, Programmes
Spécialement Conçus pour l’Éducation des Filles et des Femmes.
67

Appendix:
Persons interviewed
and organizations/
institutions visited
Ethiopia
68
Hon. Gifti Abasiyya, State Minister, Women Sub-sector, Prime Minister’s
Office.
Nuria Ahmed, Department of Women’s Affairs, Oromia Education
Bureau.
Bogalech Alemu, Head, Women and Development (WAD), Ministry of
Agriculture.
Konjit Alula, Head, Women’s Affairs Department, Ministry of Health.
Rahel Bekele, Head, Policy, Advocacy and Family, CCRDA.
Kassaw Checkole, Co-ordinator, Basic Education Network (BEN).
Kassech Demissie, Women’s Affairs Department, Ministry of Education.
Lakesh Haile, Head, Women’s Affairs Department, Ministry of Water
Resources.
Martha Mangesha, Deputy Secretary-General, National Agency for
UNESCO and in her capacity as executive member of FAWE
(Ethiopia Chapter).
Allemayeu Minas, Secretary-General, National Agency for UNESCO.
Mexia Mohammed, Women Sub-sector, Prime Minister’s Office.
Enebet Mulugeta, Director, CERTWID, Addis Ababa University.

Mergerssa Negasa, Women’s Affairs Department, Addis Ababa
University.
Musie Tamir, Team Leader, Factory Women in the Industrial Sector,
Ministry of Industries.
Fananesh Tilahun, Women’s Affairs Department, Ministry of Education.
Almaz Witensaye, Addis Ababa Women’s Affairs Officer.
Yelfign Worku, Chair, Women Education Association of Ethiopia (FAWE
Ethiopia Chapter).
Aster Zewde, Head, Women’s Affairs Department, Ministry of Youth,
Sports and Culture.
Swaziland
Atticia Dladla, Acting Director, National Curriculum Centre.
Thulsile Dladla, Chief Executive Officer, SEBENTA National Institute.
Bernard Dlamini, Chief Inspector (Tertiary).
Peterson Dlamini, Principal, Ngwane Teachers’ College.
Zweli Gamedze, Assistant Registrar (Computer), Exams Council of
Swaziland.
Faith Khumalo, Inspector of Schools (Examinations), Exams Council of
Swaziland.
J-G Kunene, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Education.
Dorothy Littler, Secretary-General, National Commission for UNESCO.
Musa Macwele, Assistant Chief Inspector (Adult Education).
Thembinkosi Mamba, Directorate of Industrial and Vocational Training.
Jane Maseko, Head of Department of Agriculture, Ngwane Teachers’
College.
Christobel Mkhonta, Chief Inspector (Secondary).
Sibusiso Mkhonta, Director of Education, Ministry of Education.
Della Nsibande, Guidance and Counselling Unit, Ministry of Education.
Bongie Potsoa, University of Swaziland.
Martha Shongwe, Senior Inspector, Ministry of Education.
Israel Similane, Chief Inspector (Primary).
Nomcebo Similane, University of Swaziland.
69

Dr. Sukati, University of Swaziland.
Hebron Sukati, Principal, Swaziland College of Technology (SCOT).
Lineo Vilakazi, Guidance and Counselling Unit, Ministry of Education.
Nomsa Zindela, University of Swaziland.
Mozambique
70
Eninelinda Adelino, Deputy Head of the Maputo Provincial Department
of Education.
Raul Salomad Benzane, Head Teacher, Escola Primaria Centro Educacional,
Maraccueme.
Susana Betrossi, Head Teacher, EP2 do Estoril, Beira.
Alvos Manuel Cagana, Chief of Pedagogical Department, Safala Provincial
Education Department.
Adelino Castigo David, Head Teacher, EPC de 25 de Juanho, Tica, Safala
Province.
Paula Encstina, Head, Centro de Desenvolvimento Commnitaria de
Machanote, Dondo District, Safala Province.
Soaguina Yosé de Higueino, Gender Co-ordinator, Dondo District Education
Office.
Virgilio Juvane, Director, Planning Department, Ministry of Education.
Manuel Francisco Lobo, Adviser to the Hon. Minister of Education.
Chota Marulino Maisne, Dondo District Education Office.
Herminio Malate, Gender Unit, Ministry of Education.
Mouzere Alberto Manuel, Programme Officer, Beira City Education
Department.
Martins Jaoa Mateus, Adjointo Pedagogico, EP1 (Dondo District Education
Office).
Francisco Itai Mecque, Director, Safala Provincial Education Department.
Qestattina Francisco Moiene, Gender Unit, Ministry of Education.
Francisco Eugenio Mutambe, Head of School Support Unit, Marracuene
District Education Department.
Januario Mutaquiha, Secretary-General, UNESCO National Commission.
Mario Nhabaga, Adjointo Pedagogico, EPC, Muda-Mafa.

Felisberto de Jesus Antonio Nhapulo, Director, Basic Education, Ministry
of Education.
Teresa Paulino Mafage Nhoana, Co-ordinator (Gender Unit), Safala
Provincial Education Department.
Naissone Pedro Nogueira, Adjointo Pedagogico EP2 (Dondo District
Education Office).
Augusto Nunes, Programme Officer for Sciences, UNESCO National
Commission.
Henriqueta Anibal Oveamaz, Co-ordinator (Gender Unit), Marracuene
District Department of Education.
Anastasia Quitane, Co-ordinator (Gender, Reproductive Health, and HIV/
AIDS Prevention Education), Maputo Provincial Department of
Education.
Da Gracia E Sambine, Gender Unit, Ministry of Education.
Anthónio Tacarinda, District Education Director, Nhamatanda.
Fernando Tembe, Department of Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal
Education, Ministry of Education.
David Uamusse, Basic Education Department, Ministry of Education.
Domingos Ushavu, Head of Planning Maputo Provincial Department of
Education.
Fernanda Wachave, Gender Unit, Ministry of Education.
Burkina Faso
Emile Bambara, Association Pag-La-Yiri.
Fatoumata Bambara, FAWE–Burkina.
Rasmata Barry, Focus group discussion with Association Duddal Leydi Men.
Sidiki Belem.
Rita Campaore (Treasurer), Focus Group Discussion (Association Féminine
pour l’Entraide au Développement Durable).
Sibry Conde.
Marguerite Coulidiaty, FAWE–Burkina.
Korotouma Gariko, Focus Group Discussion with Association Duddal
Leydi Men.
71

72
Emiliene Ido, FAWE–Burkina.
Olga Ilbuodo, International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in
Africa, Ouagadougou.
Valentin Konsianbo, Association des Parents et Amis des Enfants
Encephalopathes, Ouagadougou.
Kadiatou Kosarga, Directrice de la Promotion de l’Éducation des Filles,
Ministère de l’Éducation de Base et de l’Alphabétisation.
Maria Leugue, Association Pag-La-Yiri.
Anatole Niameogo, Technical Adviser on Education, Catholic Relief
Services.
San Ouattara, Education Department, UNESCO National Commission.
Clementine Ouedraogo, Director of Programmes, Promo Femmes.
Emmanuel Ouedraogo, President and Founder, Vivre le Berger.
Germaine Ouedraogo, International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s education
in Africa, Ouagadougou.
Jean Ouedraogo, Association des Parents et Amis des Enfants
Encephalopathes, Ouagadougou.
Salimata Sanou, EFA Focal Point, Ministry of Education.
Issiatou Sawadogo, Legal Affairs Officer, Promo Femmes.
Lassina Sessouma.
Kadidia Sidibe, Secrétaire Permanent de la Commission Nationale pour
l’Education des Filles.
Abdoulaye Soulgane, Association des Parents et Amis des Enfants
Encephalopathes, Ouagadougou.
Cecile Thiombiago, President, Focus Group Discussion (Association
Féminine pour l’Entraide au Développement Durable).
Marie-Magdalene Toure, President, Comite National des Femmes
Aveugles.
Blaise Toubré, Co-ordinator, Association Generation Montante, Ziniare.
Susanne Ware, Association Pag-La-Yiri.
Isabelle Yameogo, Association des Parents et Amis des Enfants
Encephalopathes, Ouagadougou.
Bernard Yonli, Secretary-General, UNESCO National Commission.
Patricia Zagré, UNESCO National Commission.