admin | January 14, 2026
In Burkina Faso, enrolling and keeping girls in school continues to be a major challenge. According to a 2018 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) study, more than four out of ten girls who were expected to attend lower secondary school dropped out.
The main obstacles to girls’ access, continued attendance, and success at school are socio-cultural factors that tend to favour boys’ schooling, early marriage for girls, and overburdening girl children with domestic chores. These are compounded by economic factors, as secondary education costs three to four times more than primary education. The government doesn’t have enough secondary schools to accommodate all the children who attend primary school. This leads parents to turn to private schools, whose fees are unaffordable for the average Burkinabè. And when it comes to choosing which children to send to school, the girls are at a distinct disadvantage, according to 2019 statistics from the Ministry of Education and Literacy, with at least 10% of Burkinabé believing that priority should be given to educating boys. Also, the costs of middle school are three to five times greater than primary school. This often leads to sacrificing daughters’ education.
In this program, we present the story of Farida Sawadogo. Farida, 25, is a third-year history and archaeology student at Joseph Ki Zerbo University, Burkina Faso’s largest university. Born in a working-class, traditional neighbourhood in the city of Ouahigouya in northern Burkina Faso, Farida was exposed to the difficult socio-cultural and economic conditions that hinder girls’ enrolment, continued attendance, and success in school.
In this program, you’ll hear from Honorine Sawadogo, 43, the mother of three children, the eldest of whom is Farida Sawadogo. Mrs. Sawadogo runs a small vegetable shop in her neighbourhood, earning almost thirty thousand CFA francs a month. She provides great support to her daughter Farida. Farida’s other source of support is Omar Sawadogo, her 53-year-old father. He is unemployed and says he gets by on small contracts collect statistical data as part of project implementation. The third person you’ll hear from is Farida Sawadogo herself. The young girl who has made her parents proud is about to defend her degree in history and archaeology. Her dream of becoming a history teacher is coming true. Also on the program is Sanata Ouédraogo, the president of Femmes battantes pour le développement, an association founded in 2020 to promote girls’ education and the advancement of women.
To produce a similar program on keeping girls in school, you could use this script as inspiration. If you decide to present it as part of your regular program, you can choose actors or hosts/presenters to represent the interviewees.
In this case, please inform your audience at the beginning of the program that these are the voices of actors or presenters, and not those of the actual interviewees.
If you want to develop programs about keeping girls in school, talk to a young girl, her parents, and a woman who heads a women’s rights organization. You might ask your interviewees the following questions:
- What are the obstacles preventing the girl from continuing her studies?
- What can parents do to help girls enroll and stay in school?
- How important is a young girl’s education to her, her family, and her community?
Length of program, including intro and extro: 25 to 30 minutes
https://scripts.farmradio.fm/radio-script/encouraging-girls-to-stay-in-school/: Encouraging girls to stay in school