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?