Egypt: Changing Attitudes Means More
Girls in School
"Please educate me if you love me," was
nine-year old Yasmine's plea to her father.
Yasmine, the second youngest child of
nine, was about to miss the chance of
enrolling in school again. Her youngest
brother was already set to follow the
path of her three older brothers, who
have since earned technical high school
diplomas. Her four older sisters did
not receive any education.
Yasmine was among the girls who were not
in school identified by World Education
staff on the USAID-funded Girls Improved
Learning Programs program (GILO)
in Egypt. She had been approached by
a GILO's Community
Education Team (CET),
a group of local community members who
believe in the importance of education. GILO trains
these members to look at educational
problems, identify solutions, and advocate
the necessity of educating girls.
Like many girls born to rural families
in Upper Egypt, Yasmine's father believes
that her place is at home. Her duty,
as he sees it, is to help her father
care for the field and help her mother
with cattle and household chores. He
is of the opinion that educating his
daughters would result in harassment
in the school or on the streets.
But the CET members
were determined. They continued to meet
with Yasmine's father, explaining to
him that educating his daughter would
benefit not only Yasmine, but her family,
and the surrounding community. They told
him that Yasmine could look after her
younger brother at school. She could
even become a physician or an engineer.
The CET members said
that education was important for boys
and girls alike, and that depriving girls
of education was an injustice frowned
upon by their religion.
Yasmine's father was still hesitant, saying
that he had not yet applied for a national
number (national identification card)
for Yasmine, as the procedures would
be too time-consuming. A CET member
offered to help and asked for Yasmine's
birth certificate. The father asked one
of his daughters to bring the birth certificate
from his documents' hiding place. The
daughter brought him another document,
which caused him to rebuke her for failing
to differentiate between the two documents.
The girl felt humiliated, and responded
through tears: "Had you educated
me I would have been able to read and
recognize the difference between the
two documents." Her words stunned
her father, who suddenly saw the many
ways she could have benefitted from such
knowledge. The girl's speech reinforced
the argument of the CET members.
Yasmine attended her first school day
full of joy and gratitude to those who
had helped her gain access to education
and a chance to realize her full potential.
Learn
more about World Education's work
in Egypt
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