In June this year first lady Michelle Obama visited Liberia and Morocco to highlight education of girls. As a follow-up some 22 Liberian girls are now in Washington, D.C. to attend workshops and attend the screening of a CNN documentary about girls’ education at the White House.
Titled as “We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World,” the documentary is a part of the US government’s “Let Girls Learn” initiative.
The girls talked about their challenges while trying to receive education in their country during a luncheon at the Liberian Embassy in Washington.
Shalita Jill from Frank Emmanuel Tolbert senior high school in Monrovia said they even faced challenges of parental care as some of her friends lost their parents during the Ebola outbreak and thereafter couldn’t attend school due to low finance.
Education in Liberia is also affected by Sande women’s secret society as it is alleged female genital mutilation takes place.
Jill added, “The Sande business is really high in Liberia… people take the girl children from school and carry them to the Sande bush, and the girls lose their education for that year.”
Girls in thousands attend the forest camps every year to learn good morals, social etiquette, correct sexual comportment and domestic skills as well to know how to look after their husband and future home.
It is learned during the forst camps the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) takes place to prevent promiscuity as well as improve fertility.
However, it is even true the FGM can prove fatal.