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This paper focuses on the lives of a group of girls living in a periurban community outside of Maputo, Mozambique. Using participatory methodologies, we hear directly from the girls the influencing role gender and culture has in preventing girls from accessing a higher quality of life. Noticeably absent in girls and poverty related dialogue are the voices of girls living with poverty, as well as the fundamental role of gender inequality and culture in relation to the opportunity and capacity of girls becoming visible, having voice and agency and ultimately leaving a life of poverty. BIO Dr. Zainul Sajan Virgi’s research is based in Maputo, Mozambique where she is focusing on the lives of vulnerable pre-adolescent and adolescent girls and the possibilities for accessing a higher quality of life â€Å"as seen through their eyes†. Zainul is the first recipient of the Jackie Kirk Fellowship in Education. Zainul has worked as a community / international development expert in Canada, Mozambique,Tanzania, and India. We will write a custom essay sample on Racism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She has utilized her research skills and translated the outcomes into recommendations which have been implemented successfully by governments, non-profit organizations, as well as donor agencies. â€Å"Children, particularly girls, continue to inherit family poverty. This cycle must be broken. † UNESCO, 2003 p. 5 INTRODUCTION Childhood poverty is a reality in every part of the world. Today, one billion children globally live with poverty (HDR, 2012). Of which 30 million children live in relative poverty in 35 of the world’s richest countries (UNICEF, 2012). Eradicating poverty and in particular girlhood poverty has been an elusive goal. In 1948, governments, decisions makers, donors and NGOs first committed to eradicating poverty by adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (OHCHR). A more concerted effort was made towards eliminating childhood poverty with the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989. The CRC was designed to protect the child and ensure that s/he was able to access a higher quality of life. In September 2000, the largest gathering of world leaders in history approved the UN Millennium Declaration which included as one of its key goals, the eradication of poverty and hunger by 2015 (MDG website). With focused attention on poverty that began 64 years ago, some progress has been made, however much work remains as noted by the following statistics. One billion children or 1 in every 7 individuals continue to be deprived of one or more essential services for survival. 1. 1 million children do not attend primary school (UNICEF, 2010). 640 million children are living without adequate shelter; 400 million children do not have access to safe water, 270 million children do not have access to health services. 10. 6 million children died before they reached the age of 5 in 2003; about 29,000 children per day (Shah, 2010). An estimated 60 percent of the chronically hungry are women and girls and 20 percent are children under the age of five (WFP, 2009). Why Girlhood Poverty? A wide body of diverse research in the fields of anthropology, developmental psychology, medicine, sociology, and education (Shonkoff, 2009; UNICEF, 2008) all underscore the importance of development during the early years of childhood in relation to the formation of intelligence, personality, and social behaviour (Farah et al. , 2006; Brown Pollitt, 1996; Winick Rosso, 1969). The effects of neglect during the early years of life can be cumulative and lasting (UNICEF, 2008). There has also been a call since the late 1990s for research with girls and boys that engages their voices, particularly during their early adolescent years. Cannella (1998), for example, notes that â€Å"the most critical voices that are silent in our constructions of early childhood education are the children with whom we work. Our constructions of research have not fostered methods that facilitate hearing their voices† (Cannella, 1998, p. 10). I would add that the voices specifically of young adolescent girls are notably absent in relation to poverty, gender inequality and the affects of cultural and social norms in their lives. Considering that 70% of those classified as poor in the world are women (UN WOMEN), I presumed that girls living with poverty must face different challenges than those 3 xperienced by boys in transitioning out of a life of poverty. In reviewing data pertaining to childhood poverty used by leading organizations such as UNICEF, I noted that not all data pertaining to children in general had been disaggregated by sex or age. In the absence of sex and age disaggregated data, the statistics presented seem to give the impression that girls and boys of all ages experience poverty in similar ways. However, UNICEF indicates that there is still an incomplete understanding of how poverty specifically impacts girls. There is also limited research which analyzes the relationship between childhood poverty and girlhood (Delamonica et al. , 2006). Poverty research as seen through the eyes of girls would highlight a combination of elements including gender inequality, cultural influences, lack of property and land rights; lower status; lack of decision making ability; inconsistent access to basic rights including access to clean drinking water, sanitation, heath care and quality education, upward mobility employment; limited ability to protect oneself from physical and sexual violence (UN WOMEN). Why Use Participatory Methodologies? If we begin with the premise that the end goal is to develop effective policies that will address multiple real life issues faced by girls living with abject poverty, then a critical first step is to engage girls for whom the policies would have a direct impact and for whom poverty is an intimate reality. The second step is to develop space for them to critically reflect on their past, present and future lives. Space is needed to listen to their ideas for solutions that could transform individual and community challenges into strengths. Space is also important to learn directly from the girls the teps needed that would lead to effective and meaningful improvement in their quality of life. After all, creation of knowledge is the hallmark of empowerment. Numerous research studies have acknowledged the essential role of effective participation which leads to some form of empowerment. It also results in a more equal sharing of power between those who have access to power and those who ar e traditionally barred from having power (Nelson Wright 1995). Dominant narratives in many societies throughout the world hold the view that children are not able to participate in making important decisions that affect them. Girls, especially girls living with poverty are often not consulted or even asked to participate in civil society, nor in research about their lives. Challenging that perspective is the empowerment approach which encourages us to â€Å"question these dominant narratives and to seek out alternative stories that challenge assumptions about children’s capacities† (Rappaport, 2000, p. 5). Another growing area of research—the sociology of childhood— nudges us to listen to children’s perspectives and view children as experts in their own lives. Children’s expertise can be cultivated by teaching them specific skills. Participating in research, for example, can help them gain more control of the resources that affect their lives. Children, therefore, can become advocates for themselves and others (Langhout Thomas, 2010, p. 64). 4 Participatory research has great potential for marginalized girls, who are normally silenced, to develop a sense of self by offering their unique perspective on their lives, community, challenges and strengths. And in the process of participating in participatory research, they can have the potential to become leaders within their own communities (Mathews et al. , 2010). The Case of Mozambique Mozambique is a country that has been shaped by war, struggle and multiple ideologies which has resulted in its limited transition from being the poorest to the fifth poorest country in the world (UNDP 2010). Culture plays an influencing role on decisions made by governments and the policies they choose to support (Sen, 2004). Mozambique is a hegemonic patriarchal or male-dominated culture. The Portuguese colonizers for over 400 years also reinforced male supremacy in Mozambique (Stoler, 1995). The combination of culture, differing ideologies and long periods of war has had a direct impact on two critical sectors in Mozambique – health and education. For example, during 15 years of armed conflict between FRELIMO and RENAMO, public infrastructure was deliberately targeted, with schools and teachers in particular being singled out (UNICEF, 2006) along with doctors (Finnegan, 1992). In total, damage was estimated at $20 million (Hanlon, 2010), a staggering amount for an impoverished country. The combined human and financial losses left Mozambique with little choice but to turn to the international community for increasing financial assistance. Mozambique’s increasing financial dependence led to the neo-colonization of Mozambique, this time by South Africa and the West. The multiple forms of domination also led to increasing influence by foreigners on Mozambique’s policies, including health, education and the use of foreign funds (Paraskeva, 2006; Sousa Santos, 2002). Currently, Mozambique is considered to be the eighth most donor-dependent country in the world (de Renzio Hanlon, 2007). The support is limited to financial and does not adequately address gender, culture, poverty or capacity building issues, thus leaving Mozambique in a weakened dependent state (Porter, 2005). Health and education sectors considered to be key sectors towards alleviating poverty are heavily reliant upon donor aid. Issues regarding girls living with intergenerational poverty and the role of culture and gender inequality do not even appear on the agenda. Setting The fieldwork (see Sajan Virgi, 2011) was conducted in an all-girls’ school and community situated in a peri-urban area just outside the capital city of Maputo. The school is supported by an Italian church community and provides grade six to twelve education. During the first year of the three year program, girls commencing their education receive practical life skills training along with regular academic courses. The importance of sharing and working together is emphasized with the hope of enabling the girls to move out of the survival mode that has been their existence to date. The community members live a poor quality of life as 5 they confront the multiple challenges of poverty. i Many of the homes are headed by grandmothers. The girls move into the community to live with their grandmothers or other relatives, after having lost one or both parents, often to AIDS. Sometimes, they also move from other provinces in order to find better job prospects without having any family or relatives in the community. These girls often experience life challenging circumstances including death of their loved ones, loneliness and the bearing of responsibilities that are age-inappropriate. Participants Ten girls between ten and fourteen years of age were selected from Year 2 and Year 3 of the program by the Head and Class Teacher to participate in the study. The majority of the girls entering Year 1 of the program predominately speak Chagani and very little Portuguese. From a class of one hundred in Year 1, upwards of 10 different dialects were spoken. Since the girls from Year 1 were just in the process of learning the Portuguese language, the Head Teacher felt that their ability to be engaged and contribute in Portuguese would be limited. Design and Procedure The study was conducted over a six-month period. In all, the girls participated in sixteen sessions, some of which took place during school hours and others after school. I realized that if I wished to hear the voices of girls who had been silenced for generations, multiple data collection methods would be required to ensure that each girl found comfort and ease with at least one data collection method. Keeping this in mind, I used a variety of participatory tools including drawings, photovoice, focus groups, semi-structured qualitative interviews, informal conversations and reflection pieces to engage the girls and learn from them the complexity of barriers that are present in their lives as they attempt to access a higher quality of life. Photovoice is a term coined by Caroline Wang and Mary Ann Burris in 1992 which places a camera in the hands of the people and asks them to record their lives, experiences, strengths and challenges (Wang Burris, 1997). One of the most powerful outcomes of photovoice is the space it provides participants to create new knowledge and draw meaning from it. In total, the girls produced 30 drawings and 130 photographs on the issue of intergenerational poverty and their ideas regarding possible solutions. Analysis of Visual Data As Gillian Rose (2001) and others highlight, there are several different ways of working with visual data such as photographs, based on such questions as, ‘Who took the photograph? ’ and ‘What does the photographer say about the image? ’ and even ‘Where is the photograph stored or displayed? ’ In other works, two additional questions have been posed, ‘How can photos be used within a participant-analysis approach? ’(De Lange et al. , 2006) and, ‘How do we work with a single photograph? (Moletsane et al. , 2007). My main approach was to rely on what the girls themselves chose to photograph (in terms of categories), and their own passion and enthusiasm when choosing from the images and 6 photos on which to focus. They also provided the framework and context to the photos, thus enabling their readers to understand, following Freire (1970) the meaning they were making of their own lives. The photos permitted me to see the world through their eyes. Since photographs were used as an entry point for dialogue and debate, it was the follow-up discussions that provided even richer data with respect to the barriers the girls face in trying to acquire a higher quality of life. For example, I asked the girls to draw their perception of poverty, a higher quality of life as well as the elements needed to bridge the gap. The girls, while presenting their drawings, discussed the material aspects of poverty, as well as the emotional and social side of poverty. I also used photovoice to understand from the girls their perception of strengths, challenges and ideas for solutions in relation to poverty. The photographs produced by the girls visually depicted the life of a girl living with poverty. Discussions generated from the photographs taken by girls resulted in lively discussions and debates on topics ranging from gender inequality, inaccessibility to quality health, nutrition, education, and sanitation to gender violence and much more. During the focus group, I noticed that some girls remained silent. I introduced the idea of reflection pieces to enable these girls in particular to express their thoughts on issues raised. I also encouraged the girls in general to include in their reflection pieces unanswered questions pertaining to focus group discussions and/or to share their topic suggestions for the next focus group. The girls also conducted interviews with one older female relative. The interviews were organized around such issues as identifying female roles and responsibilities, discovering what older female relatives would have changed in their lives and why, as well as understanding from these female relatives what they thought could trigger the process of change in the quality of life of the younger generation of women in their community. Given that the families lived with abject generational poverty, I was interested in seeing how the girls themselves would discover similarities or differences between the lives of their grandmothers, mothers and aunts and their own lives and what steps they would take, if any, to address these issues. I also set aside time for unstructured qualitative interviews which evolved into dialogues. The girls directed the focus of the conversation according to the issues they raised. The use of multiple types of data resulted in richer information and diverse opportunities for the girls to express their thoughts and ideas. On a personal note, what I found remarkable was witnessing how photovoice (see Wang Burris, 1997; Sajan Virgi, 2011; Sajan Virgi Mitchell, 2011) enabled participants to switch from being participants in their lives to becoming observers of their lives. This change in perspective is the trigger needed, I believe, for critical reflection, analysis and for the development of appropriate solutions. As one girl said so eloquently, â€Å"I saw myself for the first time. † ii It was with this kind of realization that the girls, again following Freire (1970) saw themselves no longer as passive recipients of knowledge, but as active contributors to new and relevant knowledge, ideas and solutions. It was at this moment that they became visible to themselves and to each other. 7 HEARING AND SEEING THE PERSPECTIVES OF GIRLS In this section, through the girls’ stories and photos, they become visible, gain agency and voice. Their stories and photos enable us to understand the multiple challenges of poverty and the critical role gender inequality and cultural norms and values plays in erecting obstacles preventing them from leaving a life of poverty. Gender Inequality The term gender inequality can be problematic as it gives the impression that inequality experienced by girls and women will be the same. This is not the case. The inequality experienced by girls during their formative years, a unique period dedicated to intellectual and physical growth results in the under-development or limited development of girls’ physical and intellectual capacity. If girls do not achieve intellectual and physical growth during this critical period, the impact is permanent and difficult to alter at a later stage in life. This is because at the age of 10, a girl’s capacity for basic learning has been determined (Temin et al. , 2009). By the time she is 15, her body size, â€Å"reproductive potential and general health have been profoundly influenced by what has happened in their lives until then† (UNDP, 2004 p. 3). For the girls in the study, gender inequality, a fundamental barrier to accessing a higher uality of life appeared in many forms including lack of voice, agency, predetermined roles and responsibilities, disengagement from decision-making, power imbalance, vulnerability and inadequate quality of health as noted by their examples below. Girls Remain Invisible In The Home and Amongst Society Girls living with poverty face numerous forms of power which challenge their ability to contribute towards knowledge and meaning maki ng. The following are excerpts from the girls’ reflections pieces. Beatriceiiiexplains her invisibility: â€Å"In my class, I am the poorest girl. I know this because all the other girls can bring food to school, they have slippers that are not broken, and they have a school bag, notebooks, pens and pencils. I do not have these things. I usually wear the same clothes during my holidays. The girls at school all have different clothes to wear. I am often left out of the group. During recess, when everyone plays together, no one asks me to play with them. In class, the teacher pays more attention to girls that have a little bit of money. Often, my hand is raised because I know the answer, but the teacher rarely asks me to answer. Nine out of ten times, my answer would have been correct. But, no one will know that. No one will treat me differently. † Rita in her reflection piece notes the challenges of lack of agency: â€Å"At home, I am the last person that is heard, if at all. No one asks me for my ideas, even if it is regarding my school. My brothers and uncles always speak on my behalf. My mother I know she wants to know what I think, but she never asks me. I think it is because she does not want to make my brothers 8 and uncles unhappy because we are dependent on them for money. So many times I wish she would stand up for me and for herself. If we have less things or less food, that would be okay. But, to always be silent, that makes me unhappy. † In one of their collective reflection pieces written after girls had presented their drawings depicting poverty and their ideas for a better quality of life, the girls highlighted the necessity of Government support in their lives. They note: â€Å"without Government support, it will not be possible to change our lives, because we do not have money and need money from the Government. † During the first focus group session, the discussion turned to policies. The girls were asked to consider â€Å"what type of policies would you develop for women in your family and community? Fatima’s proposed policy addressed the long hours of work undertaken by their mothers and grandmothers for little pay: â€Å"I would ask the Government to pass a policy which ensured that our mothers did not begin work until 8:00am. Our mothers leave for work very early in the morning, sometimes before we even rise. They come home very late at night. They are too tired and often just go to sleep. We need our mothers at home with us. We miss them very much. We wish our mothers had different work opportunities like that of men in our community. The men work shorter hours and always seem to have money, unlike our mothers and grandmothers. † Beatrice made the observation that: â€Å"Isn’t the Government supposed to take care of poor people? Shouldn’t everyone have something to eat every day? My grandmother does her very best to take care of us, but, the only thing she can do is either work as a housemaid or work in the shamba (field). She is too old to do either. So often, we do not have any food to eat. † Power is the connecting thread in these excerpts. We learn that the power to engage, to participate in decision-making, to be heard as experienced by girls living with poverty is always in the hands of others: other girls living in poverty, but slightly better off; teachers; uncles; brothers; older women; aunties and mothers. Power in these girls’ lives is being shaped by culture, gender, tradition and policy. Role of Culture – No One Takes Us Seriously UNESCO during the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, Bonn, Germany organized a special side event entitled The forgotten priority: Promoting gender equality in education for sustainable development on April 2, 2009. The girls at this special side event spoke at length about the role of culture or social values as a tool to legitimize gender discrimination. In working with and learning from girls engaged in this study, culture also emerged as a root cause for the girls’ lower status and the limited opportunities and choices available to them to exit from a life of poverty. Patricia often commented, â€Å"no one takes us seriously when we talk about becoming a teacher, nurse, journalist or doctor. † At the same time, Fatima elaborated: 9 â€Å"So many of my friends’ mothers are sick. We have all experienced death. There is always someone who is sad. I want to become a doctor so that I can take care of them. But no one expects me to do this. They only expect me to get married and have children. When I talk about becoming a doctor, they do not encourage me. I know my mom wishes I could be a doctor, but she cannot give me any money to help me. So she just remains quiet. My dad, I think he thinks I am just being a child. But he doesn’t treat my brother like that. He encourages and expects my brother to make money. I want more, but I do not think I will have what I dream of†. A strongly patriarchal society like that found in Mozambique elevates the status of a son above that of a daughter, with respect to status, roles and expectations. Pre-Determined Lower Status of Girls and Women â€Å"The low status of girls and women is a formidable obstacle to poverty reduction† (UNICEF, 2001 p. 21). This powerful statement succinctly underscores the impact of the lower status of girls and her inability to independently exit a life of abject poverty. Patricia during a Focus Group shares her inability to challenge her brother: â€Å"I cannot challenge what my brother says. My mother will not challenge what my brother says. I am not allowed to make any decisions. I wanted to go to another school, but my brother decided this school was better for me. He did not even visit the school. He didn’t even have to give a reason for his decision. It was like he said it, so it had to be correct. My mom accepted his decision. I had to follow it†. Beatrice in her reflection piece writes: â€Å"My sister did not want to marry this man. He was much older. No one listened to her. She cried for days. She even stopped eating food. But, no one listened to her. She has been married for two years. She looks so thin and unhappy. She does not attend school. I cannot see her. I am not allowed. Her husband does not want me to see her. She is scared to disobey him. Last year, I saw her by chance. We exchanged looks, but could not speak to each other. He was with her. I am afraid that I will have to marry soon too† Yolanda shares her inability and that of her mother to engage in decision-making in her home: â€Å"Even though my brother is younger than me, he is able to make decisions for me. My uncles who live far away from me make decisions for me. My mother who works hard to take care of us, she cannot make any decisions for me or my brothers†. Lack of voice and agency is amplified in child marriages. Notably, it is young girls who are married to much older men, rarely the reverse. Rosa had been married for 1 year. She did not share her marriage status even with her closest friends for 11 months: 10 â€Å"I am so embarrassed. He is an older man. I wish my life was free like my friends. By marrying him, I am helping my family, so it’s okay, but I still feel sad, very sad and alone. My life will be forever different from my friends. I did not have a choice. I just had to accept it†. Culture And Its Influence On Girls’ Pre-Determined Roles And Responsibilities The Chronic Poverty Research Center (2005) has confirmed that poor families are heavily dependent on the labour of girls in particular. The cost of this increasing dependence is that school is seen as a less likely option (CPRC, 2005). Pre-determined roles and responsibilities assigned to girls leaves them tied to their homes and fields. The gender division of roles typically attributes collection of water, obtaining food and wood, as well as caring for the sick and elderly to girls and women. Paula in her reflection piece highlights her love for learning, but she also underscores how her chores interfere with her learning: â€Å"I enjoy coming to school. I like learning. But, often I cannot come to school. Sometimes it is because I am so hungry I just do not have the energy to walk to school. I try to sleep so that the time will pass by quickly. Other times, I am busy with my chores. When I miss a lot of school, I get left behind. It is difficult for me to understand what is going on in class. I cannot stay behind to ask my teacher to help me because she will ask me for money. I also need to go home and complete my chores, so I cannot stay behind†. Fatima shares her thoughts regarding the difference of opportunity between her brother’s ability to attend school and her lack of opportunity to attend school in her reflection piece: â€Å"My family makes sure that my brother is able to attend school. But for me, they feel it’s okay if I do not go to school. They feel it’s much more important for me to learn how to keep the house clean, cook and take care of younger siblings as this will be my responsibility when I grow up. When I say that I like going to school, I like to learn, they tell me that is my brother’s job not mine† The amount of time and energy expended by these girls’ daily chores including fetching water hampers their ability to attend school regularly. As Paula shared during a Focus Group: â€Å"We need water every day. If I wake up late and start collecting water later, then I have to miss school. Often, when I am sitting inside the classroom, I find it hard to concentrate. I have a headache. I am tired from collecting water. I just want to sleep. Carla highlights how boys are treated better than girls: â€Å"Boys are treated differently than girls. At home, I am expected to do all the chores which takes my time away from homework. Boys can walk down the street confidently, while we walk cautiously and in groups. I wouldn’t want to be a boy, because boys steal and don’t look after their families. I prefer to 11 take care of my family. But, I still wish I had the freedom and choices that boys have which are not available to me. Why do girls have such difficult lives in comparison to boys? No one even asked me what I wanted to do with my life. The main reason identified in literature for this imbalance between sons and daughters is the ‘mother substitute’ role that girls often play. The unequal gendered distribution of labour within the household is evident when women take on paid employment outside the home, in the absence of alternative affordable child care optionsor in times of illness of a family member, the girls bear the additional labour burden, usually at the expense of their education (Jones et al. , 2010). Adequate Nutrition – Basic Human Right Adequate and appropriate nutrition is a fundamental requirement for development. Important to note is that â€Å"the quality of care and feeding offered to children †¦ is critically dependent on womens education, social status, and workload (UN Sub-Committee on Nutrition, 1997). Appropriate nutrition is mandatory for a strong and healthy immune system leading to a significant decrease in illness and overall poor health. Children who are healthy are able to focus on their education and learn better than those that are hungry (WHO, 2010). â€Å"Better nutrition is a prime entry point to ending poverty and a milestone to achieving better quality of life† (WHO, 2011b). Food always played a role in every conversation with the girls. Even if the topic being discussed was unrelated to food, somehow food always became an integral part of the conversation. Notably more than 60% of chronically hungry people in the world are women (WFP, 2009). The girls during their reflection pieces, semi-structured interviews and Focus Groupsshared the scarcity of food in their homes. Their comments were similar to Patricia: â€Å"Food is not always available. We often have black tea and bread for breakfast. Our next meal is usually at night. † The girls’ lives are physically demanding which includes walking for long hours under the hot sun in search of water and firewood. With poor nutritional intake, it further taxes their already weakened bodies. The girls’ bodies are also still growing and therefore adequate nutrition plays a fundamental role for current and future health, as well as capacity to learn and retain new knowledge. Hunger and malnutrition are the worst outcomes of abject poverty (ECOSOC, 1999). The girls demonstrated the impact of hunger clearly in the following statements they prepared together during a Focus Group session: â€Å"It is hard to concentrate at school when we are hungry. Sometimes we just stay home if we haven’t had enough to eat. We try to sleep so that the time passes by faster and hope that our mothers and grandmothers will find food so that the pain in our stomachs would disappear. † 12 Figure 1: Feeling Strong â€Å"I like this picture very much. I remember clearly that in this picture I had eaten food that day†. â€Å"We are strong because we are happy and we are happy because we have eaten. † Photo Credit: Rita  © Sajan Virgi, 2011 The words spoken by these girls in relation to the photograph they took in response to the Feeling Strong prompt (Mitchell et al. , 2006) speaks volumes and underscores the importance of food in the lives of girls living in abject poverty. And it highlights the importance and value of engaging participants first if we wish to gain a deeper and more holistic understanding of the challenges they face, and then developing relevant and dependable policies and strategies. Critical information like the role of food can be missed without direct engagement of the girls as they cope with the harsh realities of their daily existence. Access To Clean Water – Basic Human Right Lack of access to clean water and basic sanitation is a silent crisis affecting more than 33 percent of the global population (Bartram et al. 2005). Approximately 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related illness (Barry Hughes, 2008). Despite research endorsing â€Å"150 years of acceptance of the healthful effects of clean water, an estimated 1. 1 billion people still lack access to it, and 2. 6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation† (Barry et al. , 2008 p. 785). 13 In Mozambique, most women, particularly in rural areas spend on average 15-17 hours per week collecting water. Using these hours of water collection per week as a basis of calculation, it translates into ~40 billion hours a year – a staggering number equivalent to France’s entire working force (UNDP, 2006). The time used to collect water takes away from completing homework, attending school, alternate training opportunities for girls and young women, as well as time to secure upward mobility employment for women. The girls during a Focus Group spoke at length about time it takes to gather water. In their collective reflection piece, they stated: â€Å"We start collecting water between 4am and 5am every day, including weekends. It is difficult carrying water while dodging cars and trucks as we try to cross busy streets. The truck/car drivers don’t stop; they keep driving fast and make us run across the road with our water. We wonder why they don’t slow down and consider how difficult our job is carrying water under the hot sun. When we come back from collecting water, we are always very tired. † From this brief reflection, the girls have raised issues related to gender, power, status and pre-determined expected roles and responsibilities. The girls all agreed that the collection of water was mainly the responsibility of children, predominately girls. Rita shares how tired she becomes after collecting water: â€Å"Some of us have to make 20 trips to the well, others have to make 10. The water sources can be far away, some as far as 60 minutes. It is very tiring. The water feels very heavy on our heads and our arms hurt from holding 20 liters of water. Some of us weigh 25kg others weigh 35kg. Carrying 20 liters of water, several times a day is very hard – particularly when we haven’t eaten anything from the night before†. Collecting water consumes ~30% of the girl’s day light hours in the winter, and ~25% of their day light hours in the summer from the data. The majority of girls living in economic challenging circumstances do not have access to electricity; consequently day light hours are critical for studying. Furthermore, given the amount of energy required to collect 20 liters of water several times in a day under the hot sun and only being rewarded with a cup of black tea is certainly taxing on the girls’ overall health. Their noticeable low levels of energy and their inability to concentrate on new materials being taught at school can be attributed to several factors, including physical stress on their body from collecting water compounded by limited nutritional and water intake. The photograph below captures Paula’s expression effectively as it communicates the burden she bears having to carry water every day. 14 Figure 2: ‘Collecting Water’ Every morning, I wake up at 5am to fetch water. I carry at least 20 large containers of water as shown in the photo. When, I’m finished, I am very tired, very tired. Photo Credit: Paula  © Sajan Virgi, 2011 Access To Proper Sanitation – Basic Human Right Sanitation plays a significant role in developing capacity for girls and women. Poor sanitation facilities severely disadvantage girls and women by increasing their probability of contracting illnesses. Girls and women have the greatest physical contact with contaminated water and human waste. They are expected to dispose of the family’s wastewater and feces; as a result they are vulnerable to biological pathogens and chemical hazards. Unsecure and unavailable toiletsoften prevent girls and women from relieving themselves the entire day. Accessing toilets at night also poses increased safety risks for girls given the distance of toilets from their home. Girls miss out on school once they begin menstruating due to unavailability of adequate washroom facilities at school (UNDP, 2004). This further debilitates girls’ attendance at school. Their ability to catch up on concepts that increase in complexity with each passing grade is difficult if not impossible. The girls in this study discussed issues related to poor sanitation and the impact on their lives. Yolanda writes in her reflection piece the problems of rain mixing with sewage water: 15 â€Å"When it rains, the water causes a lot of problems. It attracts flies that can cause cholera. The smells are unbearable. The washrooms become muddy and dirty with the water leaking both inside and outside the washroom. As a result, the waste and dirty water leak out into the yard. Children often play close to the washrooms because of limited space for play. They also play with the contaminated mud building different things and soon after fall sick†. In the picture below, Carla talks about issues related to poor sanitation, lack of playground space leading to children becoming sick. Figure 3: ‘Contaminated Water’ This picture shows the washroom. The water leaks from the washroom. As a result, the area is very smelly. Children play in this area as there no places for children to play. It is not healthy for the children to play in areas that are not clean. Photo Credit: Carla  © Sajan Virgi, 2011 DISCUSSION In analyzing the girls’ photos and dialogue, the data underscores gender inequality and cultural norms and values as root causes giving rise to feminization of poverty. Three important conclusions become apparent which should be addressed simultaneously in order to afford girls the maximum opportunity to secure a higher quality of l ife. These are: unavailability of age and gender disaggregated data; critical role of engaging girls in policy decision making; and, the role of culture in relation to pre-determined roles and responsibilities. Importance of Age and Sex Disaggregated Data Data informs policies. Decision makers develop policies based on data available to them. But it is important to keep in mind that â€Å"crucial in all policy practice is framing, specifically who and what is actually included, and who and what is ignored and excluded† (Gaspar Apthorpe, 1996 p. 6 emphasis mine). Harold Lasswell emphasises further the inequality that exists in policy development by indicating, ‘who gets what, when and how’ directly impacts the types of policies developed, who benefits and whose needs are not considered 16 Lasswell, 1950). Therefore it is important to ensure that decision makers have access to a holistic set of age and sex disaggregated data in relation to girls and poverty. However, the Center for Global Development indicates that governments and international agencies for the most part first focus on girls between 0 to 5 and then again at 15 years of age. Girls between the ages of 6 and 14 are neglected (Temin Levine, 2009). With limited esearch focusing on girls and poverty between the ages of 6 to 14 years, notably critical years reserved for intellectual and physical development, policies are being developed for girls that are void of comprehensive data related to the same. Also, current data does not identify the root causes giving rise to the feminization of poverty in relation to girls and poverty. Policy makers instead have access to more general conclusions like in order â€Å"to break the cycle, children must be provided with the appropriate food security, shelter, healthcare, education, public services (i. e. ater and sanitation), and with a voice in the community† (UNDP, 2004 in UNICEF, 2005 p 6). Such a conclusion makes the assumption that boys and girls do not experience unique obstacles whilst living with poverty even though UNICEF and UN WOMEN acknowledges that poverty has a female face. Therefore, a holistic set of age and sex disaggregated data is required to uncover the root causes that prevent girls from exiting poverty over and above boys. Only when policy makers are armed with appropriate data can they in turn develop high-impact and meaningful policies specifically for girls living with poverty. Hearing and Including the Girls Voices in Decision-Making Is Essential For Success Developing relevant and effective policies can only be possible if beneficiaries are being consulted in identifying their strengths, challenges and ideas for solutions that essentially results in the creation of new knowledge. Amartya Sen highlights the importance of engaging individuals who live in the multi-faceted world of poverty daily. Speaking at the Network of Policymakers for Poverty Reduction, an Inter-American Development Bank initiative, Sen underscored that â€Å"human beings are thoroughly diverse. â€Å"You cannot draw a poverty line and then apply it across the board to everyone the same way, without taking into account personal characteristics and circumstances† (Sen, 2003). What Sen highlighted is that poverty is not a homogenous experience and therefore requires the engagement of girls and women in order to understand how poverty specifically and intimately impacts their lives . UNDP argues that in order â€Å"to break the cycle, children must be provided with †¦ a voice in the community (UNDP, 2004). And in order to understand the role and impact of social institutions, policies and culture, girls who have intimate knowledge regarding the role of such institutions, policies and culture in their lives must be heard, particularly when girls’ experiences with poverty are multi-dimensional and intersect with other forms of social exclusion including ethnicity, disability, sexuality or spatial disadvantage (Jones et al. , 2010). In order to highlight the multi-dimensional reality of poverty experienced by girls, quality of life indicators could be designed to highlight the obstacles that are present in girls’ 17 ives at specific junctures that prevent girls from furthering their goal of exiting a life of poverty. Quality of life indicators would be ideally drafted in conjunction with girls living with abject poverty. These indicators would continue to provide decision makers and researches increased insight towards the root causes of poverty for girls. The girls’ participation through the use of visual methodologies to raise issues and seek solutions in their own community cannot be overlooked. It should be encouraged. For empowerment to become a part of these girls lives, there are a number of conditions that should be part of their lives. The girls must have consistent voice and space to reflect on their lives, challenges, strengths and ideas for solutions. There must be opportunities for contributions made by girls coming out of their own authentic experiences and presented to decision makers in order to develop dependable and relevant policies. As such, girls should be engaged in the entire process from identifying issues to prioritizing them to proposing solutions. The girls should not have token representation or be solely seen as providers of information. Otherwise, we will risk losing valuable information that comes as a result of their intimate experience with complex and multiple challenges related to abject intergenerational poverty that is notably part of their daily reality and not ours. It cannot be overstated that girls’ voices need to be heard and included in decision making to ensure that policies being developed are relevant to their lives and lead to dependable development and a higher quality of life for the girls and their succeeding generations. Acknowledging The Role Of Culture In Girlhood Poverty As highlighted by the girls, cultural norms, values and expectations are also a root cause that ensures that girls will remain the face of inter-generational poverty. Without incorporating culture as a distinct and critical category in relation to addressing gender inequality and disempowerment that currently exists and has existed for females for centuries, it will be challenging if not impossible for countries to achieve the goal of gender equality, empowerment and poverty alleviation for girls. At the local level, it would be important to identify internal gatekeepers noted by girls and their role in preventing girls from exiting a life of poverty. It would also be of value to include civil society and community leaders when designing gender equality and empowerment strategies and policies particularly in relation to cultural norms and values. Girl Development Rank In order to capture the unique obstacles faced by girls living with poverty, a tool should be developed to capture the girls’ diverse needs, strengths and ideas for solution. I am proposing a tool I have termed Girl Development Rank for the purposes of dialogue. The Girl Development Rank (Sajan Virgi, 2011) would be tool designed to increase our understanding of barriers that are present for girls living with poverty during their unique development years as they attempt to negotiate a higher quality of life. The development years as noted earlier are years in which girls have the opportunity to achieve maximum 18 intellectual, physical, social and emotional development. Since there is an absence of age and sex disaggregated data that holistically captures the diverse obstacles related to feminization of poverty, the Girl Development Rank would be designed to capture obstacles giving rise to gender inequality and the affects of cultural norms and values. Since the Girl Development Rank would identify the barriers experienced by girls living with poverty, it would also be used to develop high-impact solutions related to alleviating girlhood poverty. The Girl Development Rank could have age categories as follows: 0 2; 3 – 6; 7 – 10 and 11 – 15. The rank would be designed to measure quality of life including access to basic necessities including sanitation, water, nutrition, health and education. The Girl Development Rank would be a live tool evolving to meet the needs being identified by girls living with poverty. With respect to education for example, using the stories shared by the girls, it would seek to capture access, retention and completion. In addition, literacy would be included both in the primary and secondary language used for education and business. Time in relation to responsibilities in the home and field would be measured. Creative ways of measuring status, voice, agency would also need to be explored. Measuring a change in cultural, societal norms and traditions may be challenging. However, indicators outlining how political and legal reforms are responding to issues related to identity cards, inheritance, violence and child marriages could be used as key success indicators. An educational curriculum that demonstrates gender equality would also be an important indicator for a change in societal and cultural norms. Laws that are enforced which prohibit child marriages and violence perpetuated against girls will be strong indicators to demonstrate a change in cultural and societal values. Finally, the employment opportunities afforded to young women would be a strong indicator of gender equality. To better understand how pervasive the problem is from an age perspective, it would be important to include age-disaggregated data for all relevant indicators. CONCLUSION What is needed from researchers, decisions makers, donors, NGOs and governments in order to achieve a higher quality of life for girls is a ‘shift in our paradigm’ (Greene et al. 2009) from working for girls to working with them in partnership. It starts by listening to girls, identifying root causes, gaining deeper insight into their unique life experiences, understanding their needs, dreams and then enabling them to realize their potential. By engaging girls, enabling them to become part of the solution process, they wil l learn skills that are essential for moving their lives from abject poverty to a higher quality of life. It will only be through engagement that their voices will become stronger and more confident. In turn policies inclusive of girls’ input will have a great chance for optimum success enabling abject poverty to eventually become a distant memory (Greene et al. , 2009). The challenge before researchers, decisions makers, donors, NGOs and governments alike is to achieve this ‘shift in paradigm’, by identifying and addressing the root causes of poverty and ultimately achieve the elusive goal of releasing girls from a life of abject generational poverty permanently. 19 Notes Although I was not able to gather specific data on the community, discussions with school personnel and the girls indicate high levels of unemployment, female-led households which tend to have lower incomes, and illness. The girls throughout the research spoke in Portuguese. The comments made by the girls were translated into English and verified by the participants. iii ii i The girls’ names have been changed in order to protect their identity. Racism free essay sample Racism has been around for a long time. Dating back to the 17th century and continuing on through the 1960’s, and even into today. It has been a major issue since the colonial and slave era has existed. There were many rules regarding whom could be citizens, who could vote, and who could do what and where. Slavery may have been one of racisms biggest forms but that does not stop it from continuing on today. Far too often people are stereotyped by their skin color, or how they dress and choose to act. Trayvon Martin is the epitome of these stereotypes at its best; the 17-year-old Florida boy was fatally shot in February because of his clothing†¦ a hooded sweatshirt. Stage One: Racism has been alive in America since it was founded. African-Americans have been the targets of it for most of America’s history. In the 1860’s the Jim Crow laws were passed that required separate facilities for blacks and white in all public institutions. We will write a custom essay sample on Racism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Both sides of the party observed this the blacks and the whites. African-Americans asserted the existence and offensiveness of the condition. Millions, even those who are not from our area of the world, have observed Travyon’s case. Everyone has taken offense to this specific case no matter what the skin color. Stage Two: In the past the government claimed that the laws were justified because the blacks were â€Å"separate but equal†. Today the law is involved in all sorts of hate crimes and victims of racism. When Travyon was shot many agencies responded, and it is still an on going matter. They are investigating and looking at both sides while trying to figure out what really went down. Stage Three: The African-American community asserted there claims and demands again, expressing their dissatisfaction with the public facilities the government provided which were always inferior to those provided to whites. Today the African Americans still rebuke the claims that are not fair. Victims of racism do not always get the outcome they are hoping for. Today, Travyon’s shooter remains free because no one â€Å"knows† what happened nd there is still no proof of anything. In the eyes of many, and all races, this is unjust and unfair because an innocent man was killed and no justice has been served. Stage Four: In response to the injustice of blacks, organizations known for anti-racist and civil rights activism emerge, such as the NAACP (National Association of the Advancement of Colored People). Travyon’s death will be another example in the fight against ra cism. It has sparked a new passion in the hearts of many which will lead to a bigger movement for justice and equality. It will only help to catalyze the movement of people who want to act against it and defeat it all together. The future is in are hands. Racism has come a long ways in the last few centuries and at times we thought we had conquered it. Racism is something that has been around for hundreds of years and sadly probably isn’t leaving any time soon unless we do something about it. It may take new faces and change its form but may never totally disappear. It is something that is wrong and unfair and we need to do our best to make it a better place to live.