The Rights and Gender Programme
Poverty exacerbates the underlying gender imbalance that exists in Kenyan society. Young women miss school because they can't afford proper sanitary protection. Sons are educated in favour of daughters. In spite of it being illegal, girls are subjected to FGM, meaning that they are taken out of school to be married. In addition, prejudice is present in many guises - because of a student or teacher's tribe or HIV status.
What is Porridge and Rice doing?
- Operates a "no discrimination" policy - discrimination on any grounds is not permitted in our partner schools
- Provides sanitary protection for all menstruating school students and female teachers
- If a girl leaves school because she has been subjected to FGM and been married, her brothers are excluded from school
- Our partner school, Compassion CBO, runs an anti-FGM programme, which the charity fully endorses
- Put in place a child protection policy which includes no discrimination and no corporal punishment (as required by UK law)