Education is a right, so is gender equality

"I didn't want to go to school anymore," says 12-year-old Emmanuela. A sixth-grade student at the Sœurs Annonciades School in Kikwit, Emmanuela had lost all desire to go to school because she felt left out simply because she was a girl.

Cleaning the classrooms, playground and sanitary facilities was a task exclusively for girls. In the classrooms, boys often occupied the front rows and were the only ones regularly questioned by the teachers. At recess, girls and boys play different games. When Emmanuela came home, she experienced the same thing as at school and had to do housework before she could do her homework. Her parents always favoured her brothers' schooling and not the girls'.

In the past few months, everything has changed in her school. Thanks to support from the Canadian government and Education Cannot Wait, teachers and headmasters from 40 schools in Kwilu province have been trained in gender-sensitive teaching. The schools have also received teaching and learning materials to strengthen gender inclusion and equality in the classroom.

"We study and play with the boys in mutual respect and without discrimination," says Emmanuela proudly. Today, girls and boys are on an equal footing at the Sœurs Annonciades School as everyone participates in the cleaning work. In the classrooms, girls and boys share the same benches and responsibilities are shared equally. Even at recess, the games have changed, and football matches are no longer exclusively male.

"Girls are just as smart as boys and in the playground, we form mixed teams," says one of Emmanuela's classmates, who no longer discriminates against the girls in their class. Motivated and confident, Emmanuela intends to pursue her dream after studying economics.

"I want to be the general manager of a bank," she concludes with a smile.