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Educators in many parts of the world know when there's major upheaval of some sort - like a weather disaster, political strife or a pandemic - girls' education suffers. The coronavirus has proven even more challenging as schools all over the globe are remaining closed. NPR's Malaka Gharib reports on how Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, is trying to keep teen girls on track.
MALAKA GHARIB, BYLINE: In early May, about two months after schools across Malawi closed due to COVID-19, Eliza Chikoti received a phone call from a student, a bright 15-year-old girl who, before the pandemic, got good grades in class.
ELIZA CHIKOTI: She called me, and she say, madame, I'm thinking of getting married.
GHARIB: Chikoti is part of an army of women who serve as mentors and role models to tens of thousands of high school girls in Malawi. These women offer guidance and help the teens make tough personal decisions. So when Chikoti heard the student wanted to get married, the news was deflating.
CHIKOTI: So I was like, why are you opting to go into marriage?
GHARIB: The girl explained that she was living with her grandparents in a house of six people. Since the pandemic began, the family was struggling to put food on the table. She tells Chikoti she was desperate to find a way to provide for them.
CHIKOTI: If I can find a husband who can marry me, maybe he can be able to support me.
GHARIB: Chikoti says the pandemic is creating all these financial difficulties for families. Getting married is one way for the girls to help support themselves and their households. Malawi has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. More than 40% of its girls are married before 18. The problem is, once they get married, many drop out of school. To make matters worse, major crises like a disease outbreak leads to even more girls giving up on school. Knowing this, Chikoti tries to help. Was there some other way she could solve her problem without having to get married?
CHIKOTI: 'Cause going into marriage will not lessen her problems - will just add on her problems.
GHARIB: Getting girls inside a classroom has been a top priority for Malawi over the past few decades. And because of its efforts, the country has made great strides, doubling the number of girls in high school. And current data shows that there are about the same number of girls in high school as there are boys. But the pandemic threatens to undo some of this hard-earned progress.
Grace Mulima works for Malawi's Ministry of Education for Science and Technology (ph).
GRACE MULIMA: COVID has really derailed the education system. It's not in Malawi only. It's everywhere.
GHARIB: She says educators have tried to continue school through radio programs and online classes, but most students don't have access to a radio, much less a smartphone or a laptop. So for now, she says, students have simply put a giant pause on their education. That's where mentors and guidance counselors like Chikoti come in. Mulima says since 2015, these role models have been a crucial part of Malawi's strategy to keep girls in school.
MULIMA: We want to empower our girls. We want them to be financially independent. So when they are going to school, we are, like, giving them guidance to say, you know, you can get money at a later stage. But for now, go to school and get educated.
GHARIB: When mentor Eliza Chikoti visited the 15-year-old, her approach was to tell the girl about her own story - that she was the first girl to graduate from her high school and one of the first girls in her community to graduate from college. Now she's earning enough money to take care of herself and her family. Chikoti says the girl was moved.
CHIKOTI: She changed her mind. So she said, I will not go into marriage. I think I've reversed my decision.
GHARIB: Over the past few months, Chikoti continues to check in on the girl.
CHIKOTI: I've been talking to her through her grandmother's phone to check on her, and then we talk to each other.
GHARIB: The girl told her she found some work washing clothes in exchange for a little money or a plate of flour and that she still hopes to go back to school someday. But when that will happen is unclear. The Ministry of Education says there are no plans for schools to reopen anytime soon.
Malaka Gharib, NPR News, Washington.
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