By: June Shimuoshili
We often say, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
But are our villages doing enough to keep girls in school?
Education cannot be the responsibility of teachers alone.
Parents have a role. Traditional authorities have a role. Churches have a role. Youth organisations have a role. Businesses have a role. Government has a role.
And communities themselves have a role.
This is particularly important in rural Namibia, where girls can face barriers that are invisible from an urban classroom. Namibia’s national gender policy identifies challenges including teenage pregnancy, school absenteeism and situations where children are required by their families to undertake responsibilities such as herding rather than attending school.
We cannot tell a girl that education is important while simultaneously asking her to sacrifice her education whenever the household needs labour.
Traditional leaders can become powerful champions for change. Imagine a traditional authority using community meetings not only to discuss land, culture and community affairs, but also to tell parents: keep your daughters in school.
Imagine a village where a girl who reports that she is being pressured into marriage is protected instead of being told to obey.
Recent reports from Kavango West show why community vigilance matters. Schools have reported child-marriage cases, including an attempt this year to remove a girl from school to marry her to an older man.
The community noticed.
The school reported it.
Authorities intervened.
That is what collective responsibility can look like.
We need more of it.
Because educating a girl should never be seen as her family’s private investment.
It is an investment in the entire community.
