Despite progress being made towards achieving gender parity in the first few years of primary school, girls’ presence and participation starts to drop off in the following years. Sharon outlines the complex and interconnected constraints at home, school and policy level which compound to impact on girls’ capabilities to learn and argues that only by coordinating interventions across all three of these areas will progress be made.
This is the first of ten papers that UNICEF has commissioned to stimulate debate around educational challenges in Eastern and Southern Africa. The series is supported by Cambridge Education.
Sharon has written a summary blog to accompany her Think Piece and you can watch a presentation of it on YouTube and follow her on Twitter @SharonLeslieTao