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INSIDE AFRICA

Bridging the Gender Gap in Education; Togo Braces for Violence After Elections; African-American Music Sensation

Aired April 23, 2005 - 12:30:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TUMI MAKGABO, HOST: A look at how African nations are faring in bridging the gender gap in education amidst the UNICEF report that says girls are still being denied the right to attend schools in some communities. We'll see how a government program in Uganda is boosting female enrollment.
The personal of a 14 year old Ethiopian girl who escaped from her captors and got a second chance at life.

And assessing the mood in Togo ahead of a controversial election.

These stories and more coming up on this edition of INSIDE AFRICA.

Hello and welcome to the program. I'm Tumi Makgabo.

It's said that the education of girls is the cornerstone of development in any society. And that's exactly what the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, urged this week when it released a report on gender parity in education.

The report says that boys and girls attending school at the primary level is shrinking around the world. But according to Carol Bellamy, UNICEF's outgoing executive director, girls are still being kept out of school by restrictions that are far more cultural than economic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL BELLAMY, EXECUTIVE DIR., UNICEF: For every 100 hundred boys out of school, there are some 117 girls in the same situation. The opportunities that we know that when a girl gets a basic education, they are more likely to grow up healthy. They are more likely to have stable household incomes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAKGABO: Well, Bellamy says when it comes to Africa, some countries in the north, west, and the central part of the continent lag behind in narrowing the gender gap. But she praised Ghana, Senegal and Sao Tome Principe for making significant progress.

So this week, we look at how some Africans countries are trying to narrow that gender gap and how they're dealing with some cultural issues that keep young girls out of school. First, we take you to Uganda where an ambitious program is succeeding in changing perceptions and brining more girls into the classroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAKGABO (voice over): Bolivar Primary School just outside Kampala, perhaps the symbol of what some call the success of Uganda's Universal Primary Education Policy. The government says enrollment here has more than tripled since the policy, known here as UPE, was introduced in 1997. Today there are more than seven million children attending primary school in Uganda, that's compared with a little more than two million before UPE took effect. And Bolivar, like many other primary schools, has witnessed a particular surge in the enrollment of girls.

ZIWA JACKSON MOSES, TEACHER: You can find the girls reaching 13 years, is the first to get married whether she likes it or not. But after the instruction of UPE, the enrollment really has risen tremendously.

MAKGABO: Thirteen year old Grace Nanyazi says she has UPE to thank for giving her the opportunity to attend school and become more aware of her rights as a woman.

GRACE NANYAZI, STUDENT: Now, a parent can't come and tell me, "You get married to that man." I will refuse because I know my rights.

MAKGABO: With the limited resources in many rural Ugandan communities, some parents often hesitate to spend money to educate their daughters

GLORIA NARAMESI, STUDENT: The parents give them ignorant reasons that by this time when you're grown up, you must be married to a man and we get -- they use that income. Source of income does?

MAKGABO: But with UPE, that is changing. Of the 1,038 children attending Bolivar, there are 413 boys and 625 girls. President Yoweri Museveni, a former university lecturer, introduced the UPE Policy to increase Uganda's literacy rate, while at the same time narrowing the gender gap at the primary education level. The policy offers free education to all children, but stipulates that for large families at least two of the children must be girls.

Solongo Kyeyune says he's grateful for the opportunity UPE provides. He earns about 28 U.S. dollars a month and couldn't afford to educate his four daughters and one son.

SOLONGO KYEYUNE, PARENT: I don't have the money to take the children to school. But the UPE comes but I have an opportunity take my children to school.

MAKGABO: Back at Bolivar, teacher Ziwa Jackson Moses lectures on the history of missionary education in Uganda, as his students listen intently. If his classroom symbolizes the success of UPE, it also bears witness to the many challenges of the policy. With enrollment soaring, classrooms are overcrowded, forcing some schools to conduct classes outside.

Another problem is the severe shortage of trained instructors. For every teacher in Uganda, there are 110 students.

JACKSON: So the teachers who are teaching and the UPE, they are not trained. And once you do something which you are not trained in, it becomes a problem. You don't have enough knowledge and so on.

MAKGABO: Critics say UPE has become to expensive to run and the government has now turned to donors for assistance. Whatever the problems, UPE has increased Uganda's literacy rate from about 54 percent before it was introduced to nearly 70 percent now. And some say the policy has helped to breakdown cultural taboos that often marginalized women.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MAKGABO: Well, UNICEF says there are many nations, some ancient cultural practices are still at play preventing young girls from acquiring an education.

After the break we'll got to Ethiopia for the story of a 14 year old who returned to school after a harrowing experience of a potential forced marriage. Stay with us for that.

First, in the run up to election of Pope Benedict XVI, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze was seen as a top contender for the papal throne. We'll take a moment now to hear some African voices following the conclave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would have been a wonderful experience having a Nigerian pope. But at the same -- I think it's divine intervention that came in. So whichever, I just hope the new one will have the interest of the whole world and the underprivileged at heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arinze is a candidate and there are other candidates. And I believe that some person must have led to the choice of the person that has chosen -- I mean that has been chosen. So I think whatever ends well -- I mean it's all right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The Lord has just given us a new pastor, it's a joy. Really, it's a joy. Whether he's German, Polish or Italian, if he loves Jesus and he teaches the world to love Jesus as John Paul II did, there is no problem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MAKGABO: Welcome back.

Our focus this week: narrowing the gender gap in education. Traditional practices such as early marriage keep girls out of school in many countries. In some regions of Ethiopia, for example, young girls are abducted and forced to become wives at a very early age.

Gladys Njoroge brings us the story of one girl's struggle against this ancient practice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLADYS NJOROGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Grappling with an the ancient tradition of getting a wife, Asnakech now lives in fear after her abduction on her way to school was foiled by police. She would have been gang raped then forced to marry her attacker, and she was only 13 years old. It was the first time something like this has happened in her village, but in southern Ethiopia abductions of young girls are commonplace.

BRUNO MAES, COUNTRY DIR., UNICEF: What it is, is essentially that if a the boy or the young man cannot get the girl he wants either because she doesn't want him, or which is more common, her parents doesn't want him or he cannot afford to pay the dowry, then he hides behind the bush with his friends. And jumps out and rapes her.

NJOROGE: But Asnakech was lucky. The police rescued her, arresting the boy who had abducted her before she could be raped. In such cases, the attacker often claims his victim as his wife, and pays less for her dowry. If she refuses she will be forever stigmatized.

UNICEF says 75 percent of marriages in southern Ethiopia, where tribal tradition still holds sway, happens as the result of abductions.

GENNES ZEWIDE, EDUCATION MINISTER, ETHIOPIA: It used to be thought that educating girls is a waste of money. Because the girl, whether she's educated or not, she will get married anyway. I mean she will not be working outside of the household. So why spend money on the girl?

NJOROGE: This is but one factor that has left about two million girls without a basic education in Ethiopia.

Early marriages for other reasons and fears about sexual harassment in schools, by both teachers and students, have kept many girls out of school. And for a long time there were no female teachers to serve as role models for the girls. The challenges are mostly homegrown, literally.

(on camera): Even though communities here are sending more of their girls to school, daily household demands still takes priority when push comes to shove.

(voice over): Nonetheless, the number of girls dropping out of school has significantly gone down in the past five years. But the U.N.'s children's agency, UNICEF, says its still a world away of attracting girls to stay until their eighth year of class.

MAES: I think it's still a bad choice to be born as a girl in Ethiopia. But things have improved very, very significantly, no question of that. And that's a good development.

NJOROGE: And it's being felt by girls like Asnakech. Her abductor is serving a yearlong jail term, something that would have never happened before a new law took effect last year that makes it illegal to abduct young girls and force them into marriage.

However, she says she's afraid that he may try to kidnap her again once he's out of prison in four months time.

ASNAKECH ALE, 14 YEARS OLD (through translator): "The community members were pointing at me, saying she's the one who was abducted," she says.

NJOROGE: While the stigma remains, Asnakech is back in school and not trapped in a marriage she didn't want.

Gladys Njoroge for CNN, Awasa, Ethiopia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MAKGABO: Well, global and local organizations aren't giving up on equal education in Ethiopia. They're instead placing a lot of emphasis on the importance of an alternative basic education, which many believe is the only chance children in rural areas have, especially girls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAKGABO (voice over): The students in this class at the Shisha (ph) Alternative Basic Education Center are just as lively as third grade students anywhere. Not so long ago, attending school for these children would have included a 13-kilometer journey just to get there. Fears for their safety, the expense of travel and the extra hand needed around the house kept most children in Ethiopia's rural areas at home.

But combined efforts by the government and the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, have made all the difference especially for young girls.

BJORN LJUNGQVIST, UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE: The only way for them to catch up and given any chance is through non formal systems. And that's why we believe, as we help the government as rapidly as possible, increase the space for children in primary school. We have to take care of all those out of school children who have missed the chance. And if we don't do it now it will be very difficult for them to ever get the chance.

MAKGABO: Non formal systems include bringing schools closer to rural communities and allowing flexibility in schooling hours, so children can help their families during harvest time.

But there's still a long way to go. The country will miss its 2005 deadline to achieve parity in education by some three years, because there is still a difference of 20% between enrollment of boys versus girls.

But the government isn't given up on trying to increase participation of girls, girls like Momina Mabashu (ph) who sits quietly in the corner during class. She seems a lot more reserved than her classmates. But perhaps that's because at the tender age of 14, she also has the responsibilities of a wife on her mind. Momina has already been married for a year, and with the shyness of a child she reminds us that she's still one of the lucky ones.

MOMINA MABASHU, MARRIED 14 YEAR OLD STUDENT (through translator): "It was because of my husband's willingness that I managed to learn," she says. "The program of the school doesn't overlap with the time I have for my housework. After marriage, no female has the right to go to school."

MAKGABO: The fact that Momina is the only married girl in this school of 363 students appears to support that belief. And in this rural part of Ethiopia, dealing with that is as familiar as dealing with poverty.

TIBERU KOJI, MGR., ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM: You know in this area there is several times there is drought. Because of this the communities are poor. Because of the poverty of the communities they cannot send their children to formal school. They cannot afford the payment for their children.

MAKGABO: The Basic Alternative Education Program has taken away some of that worry for parents here. And for the children, trying to balance being a child with the responsibilities of growing up will always be a challenge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MAKGABO: Well, programs like Ethiopia's alternative primary education are getting more girls into the classroom. Yet UNICEF says to achieve the Millennium Development goal of getting all school aged children enrolled by 2015, countries must accelerate their efforts.

Well, we're going to take a quick break now. But still ahead, the mood in Togo ahead of Sunday's election. And we'll profile a Senegalese R&B sensation. Stay with us for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MAKGABO: Hello again.

We take you now to Togo where voters go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, two months after the death of longtime leader Gnassingbe Eyadema. His 39 year old son, Faure Gnassingbe is the ruling party's candidate.

Members of the Security Forces voted on Thursday. In the meantime, there are growing fears that the country may be plunged into violence after the election. This has prompted the opposition to call for the polls to be postponed. The interior minister was sacked on Friday for backing that call.

Journalist Ebow Goodwinn is in the capitol, Lome, with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EBOW GOODWINN, JOURNALIST: At the moment, Lome is very quiet because all of the political parties: The principal opposition party have had some political campaigns here yesterday. They had a last lap and it was with a big, mammoth rally at the Lome Municipal Stadium, and well attended. It was merrymaking and the message was clear.

They did not give intention that they were going to boycott the election. But they kept on issuing a warning that if the authorities persisted to go ahead with the polls, then the Togo government should be prepared to bear the consequences of their decisions and their actions. So they had issued a severe warning of the government.

By the same time yesterday, to round up their campaign -- the political campaigns, the ruling party candidate, Faure Gnassingbe, also had a big rally in the northern town of Kara. Oh, about 30,000 people attended and the reports say that it was one of the biggest rallies ever had in this campaign.

And Mr. Faure Gnassingbe accused the opposition of developing cold feet. They called for restoration of democracy. They called for restoration of the legal -- legality and constitution. They called for the respect of the constitution. Now that the constitution was being respected, they were calling for election. Now that we have election, they're calling for a postponement. It's that they found their behavior to be very bizarre.

So both parties, big parties had their mammoth rallies yesterday to round out their presidential campaigns. So the atmosphere here is one of uneasy calm. In the interior part of the country, there are no signs of any violence. But what people are afraid of is what was likely to happen after Sunday's polls.

And Mr. Nicholas lost, who dropped out of the race has a portioned blamed -- has blamed the ruling party and the opposition coalition party for the outbreak of -- sudden outbreak of violence during the second round of the presidential campaign. A lot of people were injured. According to the Ministry for Interior and Security, over 50 people received serious injuries.

But they did not talk about any deaths, even though there were counterclaims by the ruling party that six of their supporters were killed in the confrontation. Whereas, the opposition party spokesman, Yawovi Agboyibo, also claimed that the supporter -- that one supporter was killed and about 55 supporters of the opposition received serious injuries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MAKGABO: Results of Sunday's elections are expected next week.

And moving from politics to music, as we turn the spotlight on a rising star from Senegal. Akon, as he's known, is climbing the R&B billboard charts in Europe and the United States.

As Danielle Elias reports his music reflects his upbringing both in Africa and on the streets of the U.S. state of New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIELLE ELIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of the ghetto and into the studios, Akon sings his way to the top of the charts. His debut album, "Trouble," featuring the hit singles "Locked Up" and "Ghetto," has gone platinum, selling over a million copies in the United States and gold in the U.K. in three weeks.

His rise to fame hasn't always been as smooth as his tunes. He was born in the U.S. to Senegalese parents who later returned to Senegal, where Akon spent his formative years. He later moved back to the U.S. where he was faced with the culture shock of urban America.

AKON, ARTIST: I mean Jersey, it was more fast paced. It was more cruel because that's where I like pretty much where I started to understand everything. I learned -- by the time I learned how to speak English, peer pressure was real heavy.

ELIAS: The rough inner city exposed Akon to the negative elements of the streets. And soon he was in trouble with the law. He was charged with grand larceny in several states and spent three years in prison. During that time, Akon vented his life's frustrations by writing lyrics to songs, which later became the foundation for his first record.

AKON: As I was going through the troubles, I was creating the music. So at the time I had no outlet for the music. Didn't care about the outlet because I was making it as a hobby, like it was my own personal use.

ELIAS: Akon says he learned lifelong lessons from his turbulent past and calls his experience, "a rite of passage."

AKON: Those current events just happened to where it almost like I could say choreographed in my future life.

I come to the area where they don't see the stuff.

ELIAS: Music lifted Akon from the harsh inner city streets and provided him with opportunities to do good.

(on camera): Akon has turned his time of struggle into success. He's even started his own record label called The Convict Music, where he takes young artists along the same path.

(voice over): As for his debut album, Akon has created a blend of hip-hop, R&B and reggae. And he insists that there is a message in his music, one that's influenced by events of his past.

AKON: The message don't change no matter where you go because poverty don't have no favorites. Like, I don't care where you go in the world you're going to experience it.

ELIAS: In a musical environment of over-produced songs, this singer- songwriter-producer defies current trends and his music comes from his heart.

Danielle Elias, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MAKGABO: And speaking of talent, before we go we bring you the story of a rather talented chimp with an even worse habits. Charlie lives at the Bloemfontein Zoo in South Africa where he's been picking up cigarettes thrown to him by visitors. And then he smokes them. His keeper say he even acts like a naughty schoolboy by hiding the cigarettes when the staff approaches. Charlie's mate, Judy, has also picked up the unusual and bad habit. And Bloemfontein Zoo officials say they are determined to help them both quit.

Well, we've definitely heard of mischievous monkeys but Charlie is just cheeky, I think we can safely say.

And that's our look inside the continent for this week. I'm Tumi Makgabo, thanks for watching.

END

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