Education holds the key to empowerment, changing the lives of women living in poverty and in developing countries.
A good education can boost quality of life and open doors to decent work opportunities. It can give women and girls the life skills they need in order to know and claim their rights, to stand up against discrimination and violence, to become fully engaged citizens and to make decisions about their health care, including their sexual and reproductive health. It also benefits children, families and societies more broadly through poverty reduction and enhanced economic growth.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (SDG 5) and some progress has been made in this worldwide. Yet in Africa, centuries-old gender injustices prevail and deny many girls an education, especially at secondary level, and there is an expectation for them to stay at home to look after younger siblings or to marry early, perhaps as young as 13 years.
Chrysalis School will work with other agencies to advance gender equality through girls’ education. Girls will be encouraged to stay at school to A level and to go on to university, if they wish. It will therefore have an impact on reducing child marriage in Uganda and will promote good health and well-being of girls during the critical years of their lives. It may also have an impact on child mortality in Uganda. Education will give them a sense of self-worth, pride and confidence.
Young women can be change-makers and their leadership can bring vitality, creativity and courage to a country. They have the power to inspire and mobilize others for positive change and to encourage the questioning of systems and beliefs that limit their lives and choices.