Harnessing Girls’ Education for the Africa We Want

• Date: 17 November 2021
• Time: 09:00 - 11:00 am GMT
• Location: Mahamat Ghandi Conference Center, Niamey, Niger
• Registration: African Girls’ Summit webpage

Education continues to be denied to many girls and women as a result of cultural and social norms and practices, sometimes perpetuated through customary or religious traditions, an inadequate legislative framework and weak policy implementation. Harmful gender stereotypes about appropriate roles for women and girls reinforce cultural or community level notions that education is “wasted” on girls.

While many African countries have adopted or ratified key international and regional instruments to ensure girls’ and women’s rights to education in Africa, many still face unique barriers to education, including gender-based violence, teen pregnancy, early marriage, HIV infection or limited access to remote learning and sexual reproductive health services. This parallel session, held during the 3rd African Union Girls’ Summit, will look at the legal challenges preventing girls from accessing and completing education, the benefits of gender-responsive and cross-sectoral planning and the importance of effective financing for girls’ education.

The session will be co-organized by AU-CIEFFA, UNAIDS (in collaboration with UNESCO and UNICEF), Girls Not Brides and the Global Partnership for Education. Panellists

• S.E. Dr. Rabiou Ousman, Minister of Education, Niger
• Mrs. Marie Evelyne Petrus, IPPF Regional Director
• Mr. Eskendir Lakew, Team Leader, Women, Children and Youth Directorate, MoE, Ethiopia
• Minister of Education, Togo (Tbc)
• Dr. Rita Bissoonauth, Head of mission, AU/CIEFFA
• Mrs. Simone Yankey-Ouattara, Senior Policy Officer, AU/CIEFFA
• UNFPA or UNESCO Regional Director (Tbc)
• Dr. Sihaka Tsemo, Director UNAIDS
• Eline Versluys, UNGEI Secretariat
• Ms. Mariama Gado, AU-CIEFFA Youth Alumni, Niger
• Ms. Janice Khumalo, AU Youth Volunteer – East and South Africa
• Marline Atieno Ochieng, Femnet-Kenya
• Haidara Mohamed, Executive Director, Songes Niger – Girls Not Brides representative
• Thomas Poirier, Senior Education Policy Analyst, IIEP

Agenda