Share

Can someone please explain why Donald Trump is scrapping the "Let Girls Learn" programme?

accreditation

In a world where a 15-year-old girl once literally took a bullet for education and where roughly 130 million (!!) girls are still not attending school, there is still a man running an extremely powerful country who is not prioritising education for girls.

HOW?!

CNN reported earlier this week that Trump's administration is in the process of discontinuing former First Lady Michelle Obama's absolutely necessary passion project - the Let Girls Learn programme, which is in partnership with the Peace Corps and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This is (or should we now say was?) a multi-year programme aimed at getting young girls in developing countries into and staying in school. The initiative also included mentorship programmes, leadership camps and school libraries, which are now activities girls in need can no longer look forward to. Worst of all is that the programme still has several years worth of healthy funding to go.

Apparently Trump and his people do intend on keeping some aspects of the initiative (the most cost-effective ones?), but it's still unclear which ones exactly.

But this can't only be a financially-driven decision, considering the fact that Tina Tchen, who served as the chief of staff during Obama's term, gave comment on how this private sector and government-funded program had benefits which far outweighed the costs.

I'd really like to know how anyone would okay the inhumane decision to further deprive girls in developing countries the right to education.

Oh, and just to add insult to injury the CNN report also added that employees have been told to stop using the "Let Girls Learn" name. 

So in light of this I took to the internet just to confirm what I already know about the rife situations thousands of adolescent girls in developing countries are faced with and what I read on Tour de STFU was both maddening and disheartening.

There are at least ten countries in the world that do not allow girls to go to school, including countries such as Chad, where only ten percent of girls have completed school; and a staggering 84 percent of women in Ethiopia are illiterate. 

So given such stats, I'd really like to know how anyone would okay the inhumane decision to further deprive girls in developing countries the right to education. 

Donald Trump is clearly not familiar with the phrase, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Read more: Does Ivanka Trump's new book have any real advice for women at work?

At least we can still take comfort in the fact that Michelle Obama stated that her commitment to educating young girls would not waiver even after her term as FLOTUS.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE