Cultural expectations hinder girls’ education: Official

National

MANY girls are not able to complete their education because of the challenges they face relating their gender, Marie Stopes PNG (MSPNG) health programme director Liesel Seehofer says.
“Girls all over the world, including PNG, are weighed down with cultural expectations from the day they are born,” Seehofer said.
“One of the reasons girls have lower educational outcomes (such as inconsistent attendance and incompletion rates) is simply because they are girls.
“Social and cultural practices favour boys’ education over girls.
“In rural parts of PNG, girls are forced to drop out of school due to limited funds or family obligations preferencing the son’s education over the daughter’s.
“Girl’s help take care of younger siblings, help their mothers in the garden and around the home and family while the brothers are sent to school.”
Access to proper sanitation facilities is also a significant barrier for girls in school.
According to the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef), 4,700 schools studied lacked access to basic water supply.
The same study found that 70 per cent of the schools lacked gender-segregated functioning toilets.
This makes attending school difficult for girls who need privacy to manage their monthly periods.
The Department of Education in 2015 found that 70 per cent of schools lack girls’ menstrual hygiene management facilities and programmes.
“Girls will miss on average four school days every month because there is no provision of adequate facilities to manage their periods,” MSPNG’s gender action project (GAP) manager Elly Kale said.
“Being absent from school frequently means girls perform poorly and are more likely to drop out.
“In some cases, they are forced to end their education as soon as they get their first period to prepare for marriage.
“Child marriage is also a significant barrier to education for many girls globally. Improving water facilities, the construction of separate toilets for boys and girls and increasing awareness on menstrual hygiene management among students as well as their teachers and parents are some ways we can empower young girls to remain in school and complete their education.”
Through GAP, Marie Stopes, in partnership with WaterAid Australia, have implemented a pilot water, sanitation and hygiene project in four schools in the Central.
The project aims to keep girls in school by reducing unplanned pregnancies and improving menstrual hygiene facilities in schools.