The Fight for Women in South Africa

Teaching the Young so that They can be the Old

Picture
"According to a report by BBC news, a female born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped in her lifetime than learning how to read," (Dempster 2002). The average number of years of schooling an adult in South Africa has had is 6.1 years, so obviously there is a major problem in the educational program in South Africa. Things are looking up though. More and more young girls are enrolling in schools across South Africa yearly, and more girls are showing up for school and yearly tests than the boys. 

However, the problem doesn't just lie with trying to get girls to go to school. "One third of reported rapes of South African girls under the age of fifteen are by teachers," (Half the Sky 182). If girls who are going to school can't feel safe while they are at school, then why would they continue to go to school? A school needs to be a place where young boys and girls can go and feel safe and inspired to learn, and for this to happen there has to be teachers and professors who care deeply about their students and their educations.
Picture