Dignity Restored: Holistic Learning Alternatives to End Violence Against Women & Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Ahead of the Nordic Education on Girls' Education, Cannot Wait supports local partners in their mission to empower women

By Education Cannot Wait

January 20^th, 2023

In Tanganyika province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a 15-year-old girl named Angel*, sits in a dirt-stained tent with her toddler on her lap. Her arms wrap tenderly around her son’s tiny body.

Along with other teenage mothers, Angel is learning to become a seamstress.

The tent is her classroom — a safe space where young mothers like her have a chance to learn, socialize and reduce their sense of isolation.

The tailor trainer writes his lesson on the blackboard in the vocational training workshop for women and teenage mothers in the DRC. Photo © ECW/Justin Makangara

CONFLICT IN TANGANYIKA

Two years ago, Angel had to flee her village due to inter-ethnic conflicts that plagued the region for decades. She now lives in a camp for internally displaced people. In their short lives, Angel and her peers have endured horrific acts of violence. Many of them are survivors of sexual violence and have lost family members in the conflict.

Tanganyika is the province with the highest prevalence of child marriage in the DRC, 49% of girls are married before the age of 18 and 52% of young women in the province have had a child before the age of 18. In this context, gender sensitive and transformative holistic education interventions are particularly crucial to help girls access education and stay in school.

Women and teenage mothers are learning to tailor clothing to support their livelihood. They also produce uniforms and sanitary pads that are distributed for free to increase access to school in Tanganyika, DRC. Photo © ECW/Justin Makangara

SUPPORTING YOUNG MOTHERS AND CHILDREN’S EDUCATION AND WELL-BEING

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) — the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises — is committed to supporting girls' access to education in the DRC, offering context-specific holistic interventions that protect the well-being of girls.

Through ECW’s multi-year resilience programme, UNICEF, WFP, Armee du Salut and other local partners collaborate in providing integrated education, protection, nutrition, and mental health and psychosocial support services in Tanganyika.

Thanks to the programme, UNICEF and partners set up temporary learning spaces in Angel’s displacement camp where children can now go to school - before that, children had to walk over 5 km to attend overcrowded classes in the nearest school or remained out-of-school. Vocational training, psychosocial services and mental health care were also set up.

Despite becoming a mother at a very early age, Angel has found hope and a greater sense of autonomy by learning to sew. Using her hands to pull cloth through the machine-operated needle, she can feel tangible progress. This is her chance to find solace and opportunity despite the challenges she has faced in her young life.

For the 222 million crisis-affected children and adolescents who urgently need education support, ECW prioritizes gender equality and support for the most vulnerable — teenage mothers like Angel. By providing learning opportunities for children, girls and women survivors of sexual violence, ECW is helping them to re-integrate into their community and is empowering them to lift themselves up.

Young children stand in front of a wall in Tanganyika, DRC. Photo © ECW/Justin Makangara

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Through the investment, 505 children (249 girls) in Angel’s displacement camp now have access to education. They have received school supplies to strengthen their commitment and school attendance.

Sewing training gives survivors of sexual and gender based violence and young mothers hope for the future and the opportunity to provide for themselves. It helps them to cope with their trauma, restores their dignity and empowers them.

Violence against women and girls remains the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation around the world. Every year, at least 12 million girls are married before they reach the age of 18. This is 28 girls every minute. And 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence.

Ahead of the Nordic Conference on girls’ education this January 20, 2023, ECW celebrates the dignity, freedom and justice of women and girls everywhere. Girls’ education is a shared responsibility.

At ECW’s High-Level Financing Conference in Geneva on 16-17 February 2023, world leaders will be provided an opportunity to stand up for brave girls like Angel and make good on global commitments to ensure every child on the planet is able to access a quality education by 2030 — as laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Girls in Tanganyika, DRC celebrate the inauguration of their school built with the support of ECW. Photo © ECW/Justin Makangara

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