Mozambique: Number of dead after Maputo jail breaks rises to 35; 332 recaptured
Germany, Mozambique: improving girls’ education, empowerment, and employment
8:57 CAT | 10 Oct 2023
File photo: Ricardo Franco/KfW
Mozambique has made substantial progress in improving girls’ lives in recent years. School enrolment rates among girls significantly rose, the coverage and provision of sexual and reproductive health services increased around the country, and Mozambique passed a critical law prohibiting child marriage.
Despite these improvements, girls in Mozambique remain vulnerable: the country has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage and teenage pregnancies. The 2017 Population Census reveals that in 2017, 28% of teenage girls aged 15-17 had already been married or in a union. Child marriage is often followed by pregnancy. According to Census data, over half of 17-year-old married girls in Mozambique already have children. Child marriage and teenage pregnancy expose girls to gender-based violence and health risks, often trapping them in a cycle of poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, and conflicts have compounded the girls’ situation, with far-reaching consequences.
How can Mozambique break this vicious cycle?
“Ensuring girls’ education, empowerment, and employment prospects is key for girls to fulfill their potential,” says Germany’s Ambassador in Mozambique, Ronald Münch.
Equipping girls for a brighter future
Girls aged 15-17 who are in school are about eight times less likely to marry as a child than girls who have never attended or have left school, according to data from the 2017 Census. UNICEF considers that girls who receive an education are more likely to lead healthy, productive lives, earn higher incomes, participate in reproductive decisions, and build better futures for themselves and their families.
But despite evidence that girls’ education is essential to the country’s development, gender disparities in education persist in Mozambique, as around the world.
In Mozambique, poverty, poor school and teaching conditions, a lack of adequate sanitary facilities and privacy during menstruation, and gender-based violence at school all contribute to an exceptionally high dropout rate among girls. World Bank data shows that 55% of girls complete primary school in Mozambique. However, only around 31% complete their lower secondary education.
“To ensure that girls stay in school, they need to feel safe in the classroom, supported in their interests, and respected in their needs,” – says the German Ambassador. This entails better school facilities, improved teaching standards, and strengthened protection mechanisms.
But girls’ education does not end with secondary school. To ensure they can transition from school to work, girls must be equipped with the skills needed in the job market.
Increasing girls’ digital skills
Beyond reading, writing, and mathematics, girls also need to master digital skills. In just a few years, today’s school-age girls should join a job market where digital literacy is increasingly needed in almost every profession.
“Developing girls’ and women’s digital skills and increasing their access to digital technologies are crucial steps to ensure they can access better jobs,” – says the German Ambassador.
However, in low-income countries, such as Mozambique, men are twice as likely to be online than women, according to a study conducted by the World Wide Web Foundation.
To fill this gap, technical and vocational education training (TVET) is a powerful tool that prepares students for a smooth transition from school to work, equipping them with the practical skills needed in the job market, including digital skills.
Elevating girls’ social value
German Development Cooperation in Mozambique and its partners support the Government of Mozambique to educate, empower and improve quality employment prospects for girls and young women through various programs and multilateral mechanisms.
These include FASE (Education Sector Support Fund) and the Team Europe Initiative e-Youth, an initiative that pools together over 150 projects by the European Union and its Member-States with a total budget of 812 million Euros to support Mozambican youth’s education, employment, and empowerment.
If today’s school-age girls enrol and stay in school, receiving the support they need through primary and secondary school, they are more likely to avoid the trap of child marriage and early pregnancy. This, in turn, increases their chances to pursue professional skills training and access employment, earn a higher income, and build a better future for themselves and their families.
“Girls’ education and empowerment is one of the best investments a country can make to achieve a stronger economy and a more inclusive and resilient society,” – concludes the German Ambassador.
Germany and its development partners stand firm in supporting the Government of Mozambique to achieve this goal.
Source: Embaixada da Alemanha em Maputo - German Embassy in Mozambique / Media Release
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