Ambassadors for girls at school of horror “There is a war on girls going on at our school. Some teachers, and the headteacher, exploit girls in exchange for exam passes and good grades. If we refuse, we don’t get moved up a grade. It’s part of the child sex trade,” said Maria Rosa, 17, in last years’s issue of The Globe. She is a WCP Child Rights Ambassa dor from a boarding school in Namaacha, Mozambique.
TEXT: ANDREAS LÖNN PHOTOS: JOHAN BJERKE
War on girls –One day I was called to the headteacher’s office. He told me to close the door and started playing pornographic films on his computer. When I asked him why he was show ing me these things, he replied that I already knew all about what people do in films like these.” Before the headteacher let Maria Rosa go, he warned her not to tell anyone about their conversation. “If you do, I’ll kick you out of this school and make sure you can never go to another school in Mozambique as long as you live!” That day, the headteacher called all the girls in the school to his office and said the same thing. Fear disappeared “But being interrogated in the headteacher’s office isn’t the worst thing that happens at this school. Teachers threaten us and say that we won’t pass our exams or grad uate unless we sleep with 104
them. The headteacher says the same thing. I am not doing well at school because I refuse to do what the head teacher asks of me. For a long time I have wanted to fight against all the bad things that happen at school, but I just didn’t know how. But one day I was select ed to go on Child Rights Ambassador training from the World’s Children’s Prize. I realised that we could no longer tolerate the abuse we faced at school. That we had to become like the girls in The Globe, who fight for their own and others’ rights. We used to be afraid of voic ing our opinions. But the World’s Children’s Prize took away our fear.” Hate the ambassadors “Since the day we Child
Rights Ambassadors returned from our training to set up the WCP program at school, the teachers and head teacher began to hate the World’s Children’s Prize. They don’t want us to teach other girls and boys about our rights, because they want to continue exploiting us. They want us girls to remain igno rant. Today we had our Global Vote at school, but the head teacher and many of the other teachers have opposed our vote right from the start. It’s quite clear that the school are totally against the idea of us learning about the most important thing we have – our rights. The adults opposed us in every way, but for us it was incredibly important to hold our Global Vote and celebrate
the rights of the child at school. Because we know that what the headteacher and other teachers are doing is part of the child sex trade. They use their power against us to get what they want. We are not going to stop telling people about girls’ rights until we have put a stop to all the abuse at our school and all other schools!” Maria Rosa, 17, WCP Child Rights Ambassador at Namaacha Secondary School
NB! Not all the teachers at Namaacha Secondary School abuse girls.
“I was so happy and proud to represent all Mozambique’s World’s Children’s Prize Ambassadors at the award cere mony in Sweden. It was such a dif ferent situation, compared to our school, where we girls have our rights violated constantly. There I was on a stage in Sweden, repre senting all these girls and being honoured for our struggle. It was unreal and hard to comprehend, but totally fantastic!" says Mila, who also goes to Namaacha School. During the 2013 WCP ceremony she received the WCP Globe from Crown Princess Victoria."
Abused by headteacher “I was washing my clothes when the headteacher parked his car beside me. He told me to fetch him a plateful of food from the kitchen. When I passed him the plate he told me to get in the car. I didn’t understand why, but he said that if I didn’t obey him he would kick me out of school. When I sat down next to him he started touching my legs and he pulled off my capula na, my sarong skirt. I was naked from the waist down. The headteacher took out his mobile phone and took pic tures of me naked. At the same time he touched me and himself. I was terrified. When he was finished he gave me a packet of biscuits and a soft
drink and told me I could never tell anyone about what had happened. If I did, I would get a beating and then be thrown out of school.” Sara, 17, member of WCP Child Rights Club at Namaacha Secondary School
Dormitory danger “When I came to this school four years ago, the teachers showed us respect for one month. Then everything changed. The teachers started to grope me, saying, ‘If you don’t come to my bedroom, you won’t be able to sit your first important exam.’ I was only fourteen then. Girls who sleep with teachers get good grades and pass their
exams no problem. The girls who don’t get bad grades, often fail their exams, and have to repeat the year. The teachers do this to those of us who live at the school because we are poor. In exchange for sex, the teachers offer good grades, good food and money. Teachers can come into our dormitories whenever they like and take girls to their bedrooms. We never feel safe here.” Fatima, 17, WCP Child Rights Ambassador at Namaacha Secondary School
"In honour of you work for girls' equal rights, the World's Children's Prize, child rights ambassadors in Mozambique".
Ambassadors on the march against the teachers' treatment of girls
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