This research focuses on the educational system in Kenya and how it affects adolescent girls. My research question was: With respect to Kenya, What accounts for gender differences in access and success in educational outcomes? Throughout this research, I discovered that both access and success of Kenyan adolescent girls was dependent upon social class, societal investments, and other institutional supports. Poverty was one of the central reasons why many of these young women were treated unequally. As poverty is endemic in Kenya, it only aggravated a system that favored males. This means that many Kenyan adolescents, where educational access and success was dependent upon family income and wealth, were more likely to be discouraged from going to school and often told to settle for being wives and mothers. The solutions presented by research documents that through both national and international investments in education the bleak futures of these young women can be altered. I propose that one of the ways to raise both awareness and monies to help these women is through student organizations at Miami. As a member of the Miami University African Student Union, I believe that our organization can play a central role in this regard. With this support, we can in tangible ways encourage adolescent girls in Kenya to explore the many ways that education can expand their opportunities. It’s a way Miami students can help demonstrate how we can make a difference to a group of people across the globe.
Author: Zainab Soumahoro
Faculty Advisor: Professor Rodney D. Coates, Global and Intercultural Studies, Sociology, Gerontology and Social Justice Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
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