Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

MALAWI: Give girls a chance
16 Jun 2009 11:22:06 GMT
 Source: IRIN

Background

•  Children

MORE >>
LILONGWE, 16 June 2009 (IRIN) - Caroline Mbewe, 14, would prefer to be in school, but instead is a domestic worker for an affluent family in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe.

"My bosses treat me well but I don't want to continue working. I want to be like their daughters; I want to go to school," she told IRIN.

As in the rest of the developing world, poor families in Malawi are often forced to send their children out to earn a wage rather than complete their education.

"[My parents] said it was not easy for them to care for me and my three siblings, who are still with my parents at home," Caroline explained.

"[They] told me that my friends were making a lot of money in Lilongwe by working for rich families."

Malawi's initial report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) noted that approximately 20 percent of all children under the age of 15 were in full-time employment, and a further 21 percent worked part-time.

Primary education is free in Malawi, but secondary education - roughly from the age of 14 - is not, and where families have to choose between educating a boy child or a girl, it is usually the boy who will stay in class.

Girls' burden

Girls not only take on unpaid household chores like childcare, cooking and cleaning, but are more likely to be expected to bring in a wage.

Elias Ngongondo, secretary for labour in Malawi's Ministry of Labour, last week pointed out that this "double burden" imposed on many girl children robbed them of the opportunity to "develop to their full potential".

The UN Millennium Development Goals have set a target of ensuring that by 2015 all boys and girls complete full primary school and that there is gender parity in education.

"These targets will not be met unless the factors that generate child labour and prevent poor families from sending children to school are addressed," Ngongondo said.

jk/oa/he

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

•  Women

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Day of the African Child
Save the Children - International Alliance

•  Talks backed by aid key to defusing North Korea crisis
Caritas Internationalis

•  Save the Children Works to Reduce the Threat of Disease in Cyclone-Ravaged Communities of India and Banglade
Save the Children - International Alliance

•  Eco-Friendly Economic Development Project Improves Health and Nutrition in Bolivia
ADRA - International

•  Child Labor Steals Play, Educational Opportunities
CCF - International

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Jordan, Qatar identify first H1N1 flu cases

•  Yemen offers reward for information on kidnappers

•  FACTBOX-Worldwide spread of flu outbreak

•  Qatar announces first H1N1 flu cases, two boys

•  US: Congress Should Fix Law on Prisoner Lawsuits

MORE >>

IRIN news

Background information

Topics
Children Women
Facts & figures
Malawi

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Jordan, Qatar identify first H1N1 flu cases (1 minute ago)

Yemen offers reward for information on kidnappers (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Breaking the silence around prematurity and stillbirth (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Day of the African Child (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Right... a medical organisation! (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: Southern Africa areas affected by floods and cyclones in 2009 (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-16T111738Z_01_SAN03_RTRIDSP_2_YEMEN-KILLINGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SAN03.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-16T111117Z_01_SAN02_RTRIDSP_2_YEMEN-KILLINGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SAN02.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-16T110816Z_01_SAN01_RTRIDSP_2_YEMEN-KILLINGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SAN01.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-15T174615Z_01_AFR52_RTRIDSP_2_ETHIOPIA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR52.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-14T144202Z_01_AAL119_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL119.htm

The body of a slain German female hostage is seen inside an ambulance after being transferred on a military helicopter to the al-Dailami airforce base in Sanaa June 16, 2009. Yemen ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Tue Jun 16 11:22:16 2009