ARK Special Fall Report: “Don’t Punish Our Girls” Campaign

ARK has started an outreach campaign, “Don’t Punish Our Girls,” to raise awareness about the stigma that many African governments create for young girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy. It is nothing short of a tragedy to humiliate these girls, some of whom were raped or forced by circumstances beyond their control.

Please partner with ARK! It is a no-brainer that education is a proven tool that has the capacity to lift many African families out of extreme generational poverty. For each girl who stays in school, her chances improve to make better decisions and delay marriage.

On average, about 27 percent of young Tanzanian girls from the ages of 13 to 18 become pregnant.

Furthermore, the rate of underage marriage remains very high in most parts of Africa, where girls as young as 13 may be forced into marriage. But, rather than protecting innocent girls, President Magufuli, known for his “iron fist” leadership, is turning a blind eye on our girls.

This November, after students complete their national secondary school examinations, the government will start its debate about how to deal with underage marriages.

ARK has a window of opportunity during this time before the debate starts to raise awareness without picking a fight with the president or risking the safety of our local staff and volunteers.

Working with our staff, volunteers and local partners, who include community and religious leaders in all the communities where we work, we have identified three effective strategies to address the issue:

Have all the young mothers who became pregnant while in school write their stories about how returning to school made a difference. So far, we have recruited 146 such mothers; some even work with government agencies in high-level positions.
Have all their parents or caretakers—men and women—write letters addressed to the Minister of Education. Letters should be copied to the President, the current First Lady, the former presidents and former first ladies.
Have all the children and husbands of the women who returned to school write letters to the President and Minister of Education.

ARK local staff and advisory board members have been in constructive meetings with several government officers, especially in the Ministry of Education. All ARK schools in Tanzania support young mothers returning to complete their educations. Some schools are also part of our “Adopt a Grandma” campaign.

Please make a special tax-deductible donation to provide continuous financial support to the “Don’t Punish Our Girls” campaign. Your kind gift will allow ARK to fight for these young women to continue their educations in 2018. Please consider donating today, as now is the time when registrations for the next school year begin.

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