In progress
This project, sponsored by the City Council of Vigo, seeks to guarantee the right to ongoing and quality education for pregnant adolescents and mothers in the Cape Verdean secondary school system, and to promote gender equity and empowerment of the program’s beneficiaries.
The Foundation will collaborate with different institutions in Cape Verde to implement a cross-cutting program in four secondary schools with a high incidence of teenage pregnancy and motherhood on the island of Santiago, Cape Verde.
In recent years, an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies has been observed. In 2016, 20.4% of pregnancies were in girls under the age of 19, with ratios bordering 50% in some towns. Many of these young women abandon their studies because they cannot combine motherhood and continuing their education in a climate of gender inequality. In fact, 42% of girls who dropped out of school between 2002 and 2008 due to pregnancy did not return to school.
The Government of Cape Verde aims to ensure that young pregnant women and mothers stay in school and succeed in their studies, and to promote equal opportunities. To this end, it has drawn up different educational and equality strategies under the umbrella of the 2030 Agenda.
The Foundation will cooperate with institutions in the country to ensure continuity in secondary school programs for young pregnant women and mothers. Specifically, a pilot protocol for action will be implemented and a diagnosis of the situation will be carried out. The obstacles these women face in remaining in secondary education, their family context, the forms of discrimination experienced by young pregnant women and the impact of new Cape Verdean legislation on education for equality will be analysed and identified. A guide will also be created to promote sexual and affective education, to adapt these young women’s curricula, to tackle gender stereotypes and inequalities and to implement protocols for action against gender violence and sexual abuse. In addition, educational methodologies will be drawn up and the proposals will be monitored to ensure that the measures are implemented and these young women’s rights are protected.
The benefits of the project will be extended to families and teachers. Furthermore, the training of young women will help foster knowledge and productivity in the country.