Strategies to overcome barriers to education

Statistics published by Malawi News Agency in 2024 showed that, out of 163,950 candidates registered for 2024 Junior Certificate of Education examinations across the country, 84,226 were female and 79,724 were male.

The increased number of girls sitting this exam is in part related to the advocacy efforts of civil society to address the unique challenges girls face in accessing education.

Girls have faced a number of barriers to getting a quality education in Malawi, including limited availability of gender-specific infrastructure such as changing rooms, and menstrual health management materials.

Additionally, cultural factors like a high incidence of early marriage and early pregnancy, low educational aspirations for girls and a lack of support from households also have a negative impact on girls’ education.

GEAR is an alliance of four organizations from Zimbabwe (SAYWHAT and FACET), Malawi (GAYO) and Zambia (NAQEZ) uniting to address the challenge of limited access to primary and secondary education for girls and young women in rural and farming communities of these countries.

Through community-driven research, development initiatives, and advocacy using ICT and citizen participation, GEAR empowers girls to engage in decisions that affect their education and future.

GEAR is spearheaded by Students and Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT).

In Malawi, the Alliance is represented by Girls Activist Youth Organization, which works to offer a conducive environment for girls’ rights or related issues through research, development, entrepreneurship, citizen participation, ICT and other.

The main strategy of the project is building social accountability in basic education at national and regional levels, strengthening civil society’s regional and transnational advocacy and influencing initiatives on education in the region, and initiating and monitoring national-level commitment tracking on quality and equitable education for young rural women and girls.

Through the GEAR alliance and together with organizations like CSEC and FAWEMA, GAYO led a powerful advocacy campaign that contributed to securing an investment of over US$1 billion in primary and secondary education in 2023.

At the heart of the efforts in advocating for the government to prioritize education at systems level, was a call for better infrastructure, improved learning environments and, crucially, the need to accommodate the specific needs of girls.

One of the most significant ways that girls’ education has been supported is through the construction of adequate washrooms in schools.

According to Batch, the lack of proper sanitation facilities particularly affected girls once they reached puberty.

Without access to private, clean washrooms, many girls were forced to drop out or miss school during their menstruation.

A transformative partnership

According to Kisa Kumwenda, program manager at the National Education Coalition and part of the Malawi National Girls Education Network, the collaboration among the Ministry of Education, civil society organizations and community leaders has ensured that girls’ education is no longer an afterthought but a priority in Malawi’s national development agenda.

The result is a more supportive and inclusive education environment, particularly for girls in rural areas who previously had limited access to school facilities and resources.

Read more about SAYWHAT and the Girls Activist Youth Organization (GAYO).