Fake gold, sometimes preferable to the real stuff
Absence of women teachers reflected in girls’ dropout rates
The low number of women teachers is related to absences and drop-outrates for girls in rural areas.
Dr. Abdulhakeem Al-Shamiri, Istijaba Project consultant, said Yemeni girls in rural areas are incapable of freely applying for seats in schools, according to law and the objectives of political programs compared to boys.
An absence of education for girls poses a huge challenge for Yemen’s development, Al-Shamiri said.
The Mualimiti Project, which means “my teacher,” is supported by Ibhar for Childhood and Innovation in cooperation with the Istijaba Project. The project aims to increase the percentage of women teachers in Yemen to 30 percent. The project intends to support laws and stipulations that help make this percentage a reality, hopefully with the cooperation of decision-makers in ministries and in government.
Moreover, the project plans to launch enlightening campaigns and distribute pamphlets in addition to distributing research results indicating the importance of education for girls.
Nabeel Al-Kkadr, an Ibhar Foundation manager, said the media campaign for the Mualimiti Project will start lobbying government, concerned authorities in the ministry of education and teachers' syndicates.
Fatima Akaba, Istijaba Project member, said the presence of women teachers in rural schools will increase girls' enrollment in classes.
“The more women teachers in schools, the more student girls will register,” Akaba said. "Families feel secure sending their daughters to classes because of the conservative nature of society.”
Many organizations and government bodies have participated in the Mualimiti Project, including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.
Now, efforts are underway in many governorates in different rural areas. Al-Jwf, Sana'a and Damar are the first governorates targeted because of the high shortage of women teachers and girls' dropout rates.
On the contrary, within urban cities such as the capital and Aden, there are 50 percent and 95 percent female teachers, respectively, according to Al-Shamiri.
