Education for girls is key to brighter future in Malawi

One day Memory Chazeza would like to see her country free from the gender inequality that hinders girls in getting an education.

Malawian girls are born into a life predetermined by culture. Education is the only thing that gives them hope for a brighter future, said Chazeza, who was speaking in Oak Bay on Thursday about the development of the Atsikana Pa Ulendo (Girls on the Move) girls school in Malawi.

“People regard women as people who can not contribute to anything. They should just listen and do what they’re told,” she said. “When it’s time for boys and girls to go to school, boys are given more chance to go to school than girls. At the age of 13 or 14, girls are encouraged to get married and they’re not given that chance (for an) education, even when they are married.”

At school, it’s common for girls to be sexually abused by their teacher and classmates. Girls are also faced with marriage proposals from their teachers and if they refuse, they are punished, she explained. Even though it’s a challenge, Chazeza says she knows first-hand the difference education can make in a girl’s life.

“Once I was educated I had a voice in society, in my family and in the community. Before no one listened to me, even my relatives. They were dictating things to me, telling me what to do simply because I was a girl,” she said. “Once you get educated you are able to have a job and once you get a job you are able to help yourself. When your husband or relatives know you can sustain yourself they start to respect you.”

Chazeza co-founded the girl’s school with Christie Johnson, a teacher at Pearson College in Sooke who met her in 2000 while teaching at an all-girls secondary school. Opened in January, Atsikana Pa Ulendo now has 72 students.

The Oak Bay Rotary Club, which hosted the Brick by Brick fundraiser last night, has paid for a significant portion of the school.

“The girls aren’t just in class to learn things from textbooks, but also to learn to rely on themselves and make decisions instead of someone making decisions on their behalf,” said Chazeza.

“Girls are learning about their right of say and their freedom to be educated. They came here looking scared, but now they are able to stand with confidence and they are very happy. I feel that what we’re doing is really empowering girls and women. When you educate a woman you educate a nation.”

In an effort to break the culture of dependency, the school is also teaching girls not to accept handouts, Chazeza said.

“If people go there with the mentality of giving the community handouts, then you don’t change them. But if you go there with the mentality of helping them learn so that they can teach others then you are helping.”