Left out and let down: A study on empowerment and access to education for young mothers in post-Ebola Sierra Leone

Abstract: Sierra Leone has struggled with high rates of adolescent pregnancy for some time and reports have shown an increase in these figures during and following the unprecedented Ebola Virus Disease outbreak from 2014 through 15. As young girls are impregnated, it has long been customary for girls to drop out of school. When schools re-opened after the Ebola crisis, this practice was formalized as the Minister for Education declared that visibly pregnant girls would not be welcomed back to school. As a consequence of pressure exerted on the government by development partners and human rights activists, non-formal education in the form of learning centres were set up to function as a bridge programme to get affected girls back to school, and 14,500 girls were enrolled. This thesis draws upon empowerment theory and feminist methodologies to explore experiences among young mothers in relation to their access to education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine girls and their stories were analyzed through a thematic narrative analysis centered around their perception of their empowerment and the challenges they face when trying to get back to school. The findings of this study show that while the government’s statements formalizing this ban opened a window of opportunity to enable girls to continue their schooling, the main obstacles they encounter have to do with financial constraints, societal neglect and stigmatization. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the design of the learning centres lacked efficient communications and many of the girls expressed disappointment as their expectations were not met.