ONE - A Face Behind The Numbers

On the Indonesian island of Java, the tropical morning is already hot as ten-year-old Anis climbs down from a bicycle-driven rickshaw on the busy street. She joins her friends as they enter school to begin grade five. Anis’s mother had to quit school when she was ten, to help support her family by selling homemade tofu. She and Anis’s father share a small dirt-floored home with extended family. They have scrimped and saved to pay for Anis’s tuition, books and uniform. They share Anis’s dream that she might one day become a doctor.

Investment in girls’ education is the single most effective way to reduce poverty. Educated girls marry later. They have fewer and healthier children. They are better able to care for their children and to provide for their families and themselves. They are more likely to send their own children to school.

Discrimination against girls begins at an early age. Social customs often give preference to boys. If poor parents can’t afford fees for all their children, they send their boys to school. If poor communities can’t afford to build separate schools for boys and girls, they favour boys. Female children often have domestic work and responsibilities that leave little time for school. Families living with HIV/AIDS usually rely on girl children to replace sick adults.

Poverty often prevents parents from paying school fees, and buying uniforms and books. Support services for students, especially child care and safe travel, are expensive and rare. Even when girls make it to school, they often drop out, because the schools don’t meet their needs. The teachers, curriculum and textbooks frequently reinforce gender stereotypes. The lack of female teachers can also make girls feel less secure.

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