Africa | Sierra Leone | Education

Sierra Leone girls forced into ‘degrading’ pregnancy tests

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Thousands of schoolgirls in Sierra Leone have been forced to undergo humiliating and degrading public pregnancy tests since the government banned pregnant girls from attending mainstream schools and taking exams, Amnesty International said on Friday. Girls have had their breasts and stomachs felt by teachers and nurses in front of their peers and been forced to take urine tests, which has discouraged many girls from going to school, whether they are pregnant or not, according to the rights group. A ban on pregnant girls attending school has informally existed for a decade, but it was dec
South Asia | India | Education

200 girls leave school due to lack of toilets

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More than 200 girls have discontinued their studies at a government-run residential school (boarding school) in the Indian state of Jharkhand, citing lack of toilets and harassment from local boys. The Kasturba Gandhi Awasiya School was set up to promote education among girls in rural areas. The hostel of the school, where 220 girls were provided accommodation, had just five toilets. The girls say that they often had to heed nature’s call in the open as there weren’t enough facilities for them to use.