Poverty, abuse and cultural practices are preventing a third of Zimbabwean girls from attending primary school and 67 percent from attending secondary school, denying them a basic education, according to a recent study which found alarming dropout rates for girls.
''Sexual harassment and abuse by even school teachers and parents, cultural issues, lack of school fees, early marriage, parental commitments and early pregnancies are some of the contributing factors to the dropout by the girl child,'' said the authors of "Because I am a Girl" by Plan International, a nonprofit organisation that works to alleviate child poverty.
Maira Gwati's education ended two years ago, at the age of 14, when her family in rural Guruve, some 160km northeast of Harare, the capital, forced her to marry a 60-year-old man.
''My grandfather killed a woman who had refused to be married to him many years ago and her family wanted a virgin as compensation to appease her spirit. I was chosen and given to an old man in marriage, but he often beat me up and even though I fell pregnant I could not stand the abuse,'' Gwati told IRIN. Full story...
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''Sexual harassment and abuse by even school teachers and parents, cultural issues, lack of school fees, early marriage, parental commitments and early pregnancies are some of the contributing factors to the dropout by the girl child,'' said the authors of "Because I am a Girl" by Plan International, a nonprofit organisation that works to alleviate child poverty.
Maira Gwati's education ended two years ago, at the age of 14, when her family in rural Guruve, some 160km northeast of Harare, the capital, forced her to marry a 60-year-old man.
''My grandfather killed a woman who had refused to be married to him many years ago and her family wanted a virgin as compensation to appease her spirit. I was chosen and given to an old man in marriage, but he often beat me up and even though I fell pregnant I could not stand the abuse,'' Gwati told IRIN. Full story...
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