Amadou Taboura is the muesin who calls people to prayers five times
a day in his village of Dogobala. He's well-respected; people listen
to him. Because of his position in the community he and several other
respected members, both men and women, were brought together by one
of USAID/Mali's implementing partners-Strategies for Advancing Girls'
Education (SAGE)-to discuss why so few girls in Dogobala ever reach
the sixth grade. After the meetings began, it became clear that one
of the greatest challenges facing girls' education in the village was
the attitude of Mr. Taboura and his male friends. It wasn't that they
thought girls shouldn't go to school. It was simply that they felt girls
were not smart enough or motivated enough to succeed. The girls didn't
try hard. They weren't focused and were easily distracted. In short,
as Mr. Taboura put it, "It's their own fault. What can we do?"
SAGE had come across such misperceptions before.
During four days of intense and often emotional discussion, SAGE brought
together women from other communities (who had had difficulty getting
an education) to share their own stories with the community. Mr. Taboura
and his friends heard first hand from women who were forced to stay
home to take care of their siblings or who had been beaten in school.
They heard these women explain the pressures that had been put on them
as girls. They were made aware of the stresses and health problems related
to female genital mutilation that led to absences from school or forced
girls to drop out. Minds began to change. During the final discussion,
Mr. Taboura stood up to pledge his support to girls and their right
to an education, free from the stresses of work at home. Others at the
meeting followed his lead.
Today, when one is visiting Dogobala, the changes are palpable. Within
the school management committee (that previously had only two female
representatives), half of the representatives are now women. The village
has decided to begin a commercial gardening program and other micro-enterprise
activities, using the revenue to subsidize school fees for girls. A
girls' education support group has been formed to help girls after school
with their studies. Mr. Taboura and his fellow villagers have started
to talk to neighboring villages, encouraging them to free girls and
women from domestic work so that they can attend school and literacy
classes. This is just one example of how USAID/Mali works within and
among communities, by encouraging communities to break down the barriers
to girls' success in school. The ultimate decisions are theirs-Malians
finding solutions to Malian problems.
Malian Solution to A Malian Problem: Educating Girls
