logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2024
18m 50s

Why don't all girls go to school in nort...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Apologies: only part of this podcast was initially published because of a technical fault, but this has since been rectified. _______________________________________________________________________________

"They thought that paying fees for girls to go to school was losing money... We would not get husbands to marry us. People say that going to school is just building prostitution."

When Marthe Wandou was growing up in the village of Kaélé in northern Cameroon, she was the only girl to get to university. Most of her female classmates left to get married – and local people ridiculed her parents - especially her Dad – for sending their daughters to school.

She studied law, but returned to her home state and set up a foundation called Aldepa which works to support girls and women - especially in making sure they stay in school.

So what are the obstacles girls still face when it comes to their education? And what are women like Marthe doing about it?

Up next
Yesterday
Focus on Africa: Ghanaians lured into football job scam
Ghanaian authorities have rescued more than 70 young men from a trafficking ring in Nigeria. The men thought they were heading for football contracts or overseas opportunities. Why has football become a gateway for trafficking? Leaders from five African countries - Gabon, Guinea- ... Show More
28m 15s
Jul 1
Focus on Africa: Why has polio re-emerged in Angola?
Angola was certified as polio-free in 2015, but is now combating a new outbreak of the disease after several cases were reported in a Western province. What has caused the virus to come back?A new report says Islamist militants are using Starlink technology to ramp up operational ... Show More
33m 9s
Jun 10
Focus on Africa: Russia's Wagner Group leaves Mali
Russia says the paramilitary group Wagner has accomplished its mission and has left Mali, although a Russian presence remains in the West African country, through the Africa Corps. So what did the Wagner Group achieve?Why has a separatist movement on the tiny, remote island of An ... Show More
33m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2018
What schools look like when we fund them fairly
All across the country, it seems like a given: places with more expensive houses have nicer schools because they can pay higher taxes. That’s just how education seems to work. Except in Vermont. Two decades ago, the state passed a radical law to equalize education funding. On thi ... Show More
34m 16s
Oct 2021
19: The Boarding School That Teaches Girls How To Be "Perfect Women" For Rich Clients
The girls didn’t know what came before their lives at the Academy. For as long as they remember they had been raised in this underground school.  Their names, clothes, and identity were all given to them by the Academy. All they knew was that at the end of their schooling they wo ... Show More
59m 45s
Dec 2023
How going to school can change a girl’s life
Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women from Kenya and India who have established their own schools about the life-changing impact an education can have for their communities. For Dr Kakenya Ntaiya, the dream of an education turned into a lifelong mission to empower girls in rural Ken ... Show More
27m 15s
Nov 2021
Marthe Wandou
Invitée : Marthe Wandou, militante féministe camerounaise, lauréate du prix Nobel alternatif 2021. Dans l'Extrême-Nord, région la plus pauvre et la plus peuplée du Cameroun, la polygamie et les mariages précoces ou forcés restent le quotidien des femmes ; la scolarisation des pet ... Show More
54m 23s
May 2023
Pourquoi les droits des femmes reculent-ils dans le monde ?
D’après un rapport de plus de 50 pages de la Fondation Jean Jaurès et l'association equipop publié en début d’année 2023, le constat est sans appel. Les droits des femmes ont reculé un peu partout dans le monde dans le courant de l’année 2022.  En Afghanistan, depuis la prise du ... Show More
4m 11s
Apr 2024
Éducation sexuelle : le grand malaise ?
Une question hautement sensible qui charrie son lot de tabous, de réticences et de fantasmes : l’éducation à la sexualité des enfants. Gabriel ATTAL a récemment annoncé le lancement d’un nouveau programme à la rentrée 2024. Des associations de parents dénoncent une perversion, un ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 2020
School Is Off To A Slow Start, And It's Going To Be A Long Year
With Labor Day weekend gone, summer is unofficially over — and millions of children head back to school this week, many virtually. Two teachers — Rosie Reid in California and Lynette Stant in Arizona — share how things are going in their schools so far. Many states have decided t ... Show More
12m 22s
Mar 2021
24. Non-binaire, "gender fluid", neutre... Comment l'école accompagne les élèves
Dans un sondage IFOP réalisé fin novembre, 22 % des 18-30 ans répondent qu'ils ne se sentent ni homme ni femme. Aujourd'hui, on estime que 15 000 personnes transgenre vivent dans notre pays, parmi lesquelles de plus en plus de jeunes. Logiquement la révolution du genre est donc e ... Show More
17m 59s
Sep 2023
La escuela menguante: por qué si hay menos alumnos no se nota en los recursos
La caída de la natalidad de las últimas décadas se ve en las aulas de infantil y primaria, las que tradicionalmente conforman los colegios, que esta semana vuelven a abrir. La inmigración amortigua algo que cada vez haya menos niños y niñas, pero no compensa. Eso sí, no afecta ig ... Show More
15m 59s