Ambitious girls defy culture to remain in school

Garissa, Kenya: More girls in drought-ravaged Garissa County are defying a cultural requirement that expects them to leave their manyattas and join their families as they migrate in search of pasture.

Instead, these girls in Gababa area in Ijara choose to stay with their classmates near their school and study together to improve their grades.

Some parents try to cajole their daughters to travel with them and if this fails, they threaten them.

But when these efforts founder, parents reluctantly allow them to stay behind in the manyattas with a warning that they should blame themselves in case of misfortunes.

In Somali culture, young or unmarried girls are required to live with their parents for protection.

“It is against our culture for girls to live separately from their parents. But because of persistent drought, they (parents) have to migrate lest they lose livestock to drought,” says Hassan Ali, an elder.

Ali says that in Somali culture parents, especially mothers, ought to live close to their daughters to mould them into good wives.

“Here, it is the women who make manyattas, and in the process, the girls also learn the art,” he explains.

They also learn how to milk domestic animals. Gababa Primary School Deputy head teacher Dagane Harun believes the frequent  migration of parents in search of pasture and water for their livestock has largely affected school attendance.

However, this year,  57 girls were left behind and are now living in groups of between six and ten, Harun says.

After their parents left the girls  chose to live together close to school to ensure that they are safe.

One of the girls, Hotham Nasteh, recalls how her parents tried to persuade her to leave with them.

“My father tried to persuade me and even threatened me. But all l wanted to do was to remain and continue with school,” she said.

After Nasteh’s parents and five siblings, including two who had dropped out of school left, she stayed on her own for two months then moved in with friends. Nasteh is from Lawani village, more than ten kilometres from where we  found her.

The 13-year-old Standard Seven pupil at Gababa Primary School has no idea where her parents are. “I am yet to locate them eight months since they left,” shares Nasteh, who wants to be a doctor.

Another girl, Shania Mogow, also recalls how her parents tried to persuaded her to leave.

“I want to study and become a nurse. I declined to go because l did not know whether or not I would proceeded with my education,” she says.

Mogow  has also not heard from her parents ten months since they left. All the girls are optimistic that their parents are safe and will return soon.

Harun says the school’s population  was  758 but attendance dropped to between 200 or 300  when the drought began. “Some pupils have moved with their parents and dropped out of school. Others wake up early in search for water,” he explains.

Early this year, four bright girls who were about to register for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education dropped out and relocated with their families, says Harun.

It’s not just the dropping out that worries Harun. The fact that girls are tied up with domestic chores also limits the time they spend on school work, especially when the are searching for water. “Water is a problem here and we sometimes trek more than five kilometres to access the scarce resource,” says 12-year-old Rasmi Farah.

The girls often lack food and  others worry that they are too young to be left by themselves in the manyattas.

Kenya Pastoralists Network for Children (KPNC) Programme coordinator Abdi Omar Farah said climate change has seriously affected the pastoralists’ way of life and school-going children have paid a heavy price for this. “Access to quality education for pastoralists’ children should be addressed urgently.

“The Government should ensure that there are more boarding schools where the children can continue learning when  their parents migrate in search of water and pasture,” Omar says.

He says that although the girls who have remained behind are lucky to be in school, they have to contend with lack of water, forced circumcision, poverty besides being exposed to bandit attacks.

Gababa Primary School has the extra burden when    the girls’ parents call to inquire about their daughters’ welfare, says Harun.

But there is help from some quarters. The World Food Programme and women’s organisations have sponsored a feeding programme that was introduced to help keep the girls in school.

However, the food is not enough, and teachers occasionally contribute funds to buy additional food.

 Absenteeism is compounded by  lack of sanitary towels, says Harun.  Although it is a government policy to provide schoolgirls with sanitary pads, pupils at Gabaab Primary School have not received pads for the last two years. “We  remain in manyattas till our menses are over,” said one of the girls. The use of pads is a taboo in the community.

The girls nevertheless say they appreciate their teachers, who have supported them to continue with their studies.