"Pink Bags" scholarships for young girls

The achievement of target 4.5 of Sustainable Development Goals concerning the elimination of gender disparities in education by 2030 cannot be taken for granted: even though in global terms, gender parity seems to be achieved, there are still strong inequalities at regional level. In 2018, according to the latest statistics by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, in the world, 129.2 million girls were out of school, including 32.3 million of primary school age, 29.9 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67.0 million of upper-secondary school age.Poor families often favor boys when investing in education, Furthermore, girls are more likely to be negatively affected by emergencies than boys. 

According to UNESCO, also the present Coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on girls, as it happened with the Ebola epidemic, with an increased risk of sexual exploitation, early pregnancy and early and forced marriage. Moreover, the economic hardships caused by the crisis are inducing some families to invest less in girls’ education beside increasing the girls’ domestic and caring responsibilities. Due to the covid-19 pandemics, according UNESCO, 11 million girls might never come back to school. Many poor families are becoming poorer due to job loss and difficulties to earn a living, mothers face an increased workload as children stay at home from school and this strengthens gender stereotypes. According to UNDP, in the second half of 2020, many countries experienced a decrease in the presence of women on the labor market because of social norms and because of the loss of jobs, especially in the informal sector. There is also a resurgence of hyper-masculinity and strong men leadership. Furthermore, some families see their daughters’ marriage as the best solution in order to ensure livelihood for the whole family, girls included: early marriages are secretly arranged so that teachers and social workers cannot prevent them. And early pregnancies are more frequent due to the fact that youths can’t go to school or work. More than ever there is a need to train girls and young women so that they can be adequately prepared to enter the labor market and get income but also to become leaders in their communities. Mission Bambini has been working in education since 2001 by supporting projects in various countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe to promote the access to pre-primary, primary and secondary schools for vulnerable children. During the implementation of these projects it became clear that in many contexts girls did not have the same chances as boys to continue their education particularly after puberty. The Girls’ Education Program intends to tackle the problem by working on two levels. The first level aims to increase the number of girls who attend and finish secondary school or vocational training. The second level aims to promote the achievement of a tertiary degree for deserving girls.The Girls Education Program will be implemented in partnership with local organizations implementing ongoing and consolidated educational projects, with which Mission Bambini has a long-term collaboration.

Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, most outcaste children do not go to school or drop out because of discrimination by government schools’ teachers and by children and parents belonging to higher castes, which discourages them from attending.Coronavirus ravaged in the project area, affecting both the economy and health, especially for outcaste people with little access to healthcare. Furthermore, in Bangladesh, the reopening of schools keeps being postponed. For the lower levels of education, teachers ensure that children continue their education by teaching them in small groups or delivering and correcting modules. While this surely helps in keeping at least some motivation, it is not enough in order to persuade the poorest families that this is just a temporary period of crisis and their daughters’ education is worth waiting for it to be over. So, some families see their daughters’ marriage as the best solution in order to ensure livelihood for the whole family, girls included. Early marriages are secretly arranged so that teachers and social workers cannot prevent them.The project refers to a very specific target group, Dalit (that is outcaste) girls.

The project supports girls in their studies since primary 4^th as puberty is the most critical period in which they risk dropping out, through secondary education till vocational training or tertiary studies. Their families are sensitized so that they understand the importance of education for the sponsored girl but also for all of their children and particularly daughters. Parents are also encouraged to take responsibility for their daughters’ education and that is the reason why in higher education the project only contributes with a lump sum contribution of about a third of the expenses. 

Activities for 2019-2021:

• 290 girls will be supported in their studies from primary 4^th till the Secondary School Certificate (10^th grade)
• 60 girls in 2019, 75 in 2020 and 100 in 2021 will receive special support to complete tertiary studies (higher studies to get the Higher Secondary School Certificate, vocational training or university)
• Girls in tertiary education will attend motivational courses and monthly meetings
• Monthly meetings plus an annual meeting will be organized with the parents of all the involved girls on the importance of education and prevention of early marriages
• 2-day training on sexual and reproductive health for 20 high school girls will be organized
• 1 annual meeting or street theatre session will be held in 12 villages to sensitize the community on the importance of education and prevention of early marriages
• Due to covid-19 pandemics, schools and universities were closed by the government and to date have not been reopened. In this period, teachers will continue meeting girls in primary and secondary school and sensitisation will go on in order to strengthen parents’ belief in education. In order to strengthen it, girls in higher studies will receive their monthly stipend even if their classes are suspended so that their parents have at least a little practical incentive to pursue their education.