Kinshasa, September 17th, 2025 (CPA).- Girls living in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been urged to persevere with their education despite the many obstacles they face, the CPA has learned on Wednesday during an interview with a community educator.
‘I call on rural girls to believe in their potential and never give up on their studies, even in the face of difficulties, because education is their most powerful weapon for escaping poverty, breaking down inequalities and participating actively in society,’ has said Kertys Yowa, an educator at the Auto-Badi Foundation.
‘In many rural areas, the obstacles remain significant: distance from schools, excessive domestic work, early marriage, poverty and a lack of menstrual hygiene. These constraints force many young girls to drop out of school, which is a considerable loss for the country,’ she has lamented. To reverse this trend, the educator has called for the implementation of targeted programmes for rural girls, including the provision of scholarships, the creation of safe boarding schools, awareness-raising among parents, the distribution of school and hygiene kits, and access to appropriate health services.
‘I urge the authorities to enforce laws on compulsory education and the protection of minors, while involving community leaders more closely in order to bring about a real change in attitudes,’ she has said.
Ms Yowa has concluded that ‘this mobilisation aims to offer rural girls a better future and build a more equitable society, where every child, regardless of their background, can reach their full potential,’ she has added. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, nearly 7 out of 10 girls living in rural areas do not complete primary school, according to statistics from the Ministry in charge of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education (EPST). There are many reasons for this: household poverty, distance between home and school, early marriage, unwanted pregnancies and a lack of suitable facilities. Despite efforts by the government and its partners to improve access to education, inequalities between girls and boys persist, particularly in rural areas.
Several civil society organisations are calling for stronger public policies and targeted programmes to reduce school dropout rates among girls and offer them better prospects for the future. CPA/