Despite primary education being free for everyone in Senegal, recent government figures suggest that only 65% of the children attend primary school. Around 21% go on to secondary school, and a mere 9% will pass the exam required to complete their education.

And the challenge is ever greater for girls, who traditionally attend school much less frequently than boys. Even though the overall situation has improved over the past few years, West Africa still counts eight of the world’s 10 countries with the lowest ratio of girls vs. boys in school. In Senegal, only 15 percent of girls will make it to high school.

Even though schooling is free and compulsory, many parents are unable to meet the indirect costs of education. Girls rather stay home to help with household chores, and often end up getting married at an early age. In addition, armed conflict in southern Senegal’s Casamance region has contributed to reducing school attendance, especially for girls, as some parents, worried for their security, refuse to let them leave home.

The U.N., along with local partners, has been working on making schools more “girl-friendly” by sponsoring basic water and sanitation facilities, school feeding and other programmes aimed at curbing drop-out rates and increasing enrolment.

According to UNICEF, women who have received an education generally have fewer, healthier children. Those children are also more likely to attend school and remain there longer.