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Sub Saharan Africa Essay

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Barack Obama once said “The future must not belong to those who bully women. It must be shaped by girls who go to school and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons.” This message is not only relevant in the United States. In fact, it has even stronger meaning in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 28 million girls are out of school (Camfed). It is important to raise awareness of the lack of education for girls in Africa because educated women are healthier, educated women can raise a country’s gross domestic product, and educated women can advocate for themselves. Educated women are three times less likely to become HIV-positive (Camfed). This is an important statistic considering the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. Educated girls are more likely to marry later, have smaller families, and healthier babies. They are less likely to die in childbirth, or have complications during childbirth. Educated women are healthier and can advocate better for …show more content…

A 2008 study estimated that countries that fail to educate women at the same level as men lose out on $92 billion USD in gross domestic product growth each year CItation. Girls who have 1 year of education above the national average tend to earn ten to twenty percent more than the national average income later in life. Educated women can raise a country's gross domestic product.
Particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, educated women are better equipped to resist and advocate for change in harmful practices and traditions that threaten their lives and livelihood. Practices like abuse which can lead to deadly infections or other diseases. The most common type of school in Africa is a boarding school. When girls are away at school they are more likely to not be at their home village at the ages where this abuse happens. Educated women can advocate for

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