What we achieved
Background
Girls living in rural Ethiopia have low levels of academic achievement caused by poor quality education, household poverty, negative attitudes towards girls’ education and the challenges of adolescence. This is further undermined by gender bias in teaching methods, school resources, the curricula and the way schools are designed.
Link is committed to tackling gender inequality in education to help girls achieve more, escape poverty and work towards a brighter future.
Aims and objectives
The starting point of this project was to engage with girls, teachers, headteachers, parents, community leaders and government education officials and ask them to identify barriers preventing girls from attending and succeeding in school.
From this, we developed a combination of interventions that addressed these challenges and supported systemic change to construct an environment that transformed girls’ education.
This model is scalable across Ethiopia and in other contexts, as the key obstacles addressed by the project are common to many other regions and countries.
How we got there
We took a holistic approach to improving girls’ education with an emphasis on sustainability and social accountability. Our activities aligned to Ethiopian Ministry of Education policy and were implemented in partnership with Ethiopian government offices to embed ownership and strengthen existing systems.
The most effective activities were:
- Girls’ clubs and mother groups
- Gender responsive teaching methods
- Supporting community accountability with a focus on gender
- Building government capacity
- Encouraging community attitude and behavioural change
- Guidance and counselling for improved self-esteem
- Upgraded latrines and reusable sanitary pads, underwear and soap