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Action Aid to tackle female poverty

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Mwakirunge Dumpsite, MombasaUK government to match donations to new appeal and help young women trapped in a cycle of poverty.

In many parts of the world, if you are born poor and female you don’t have much of a chance – and 70 per cent of the poorest people in the world are female.

Too often, young women are trapped in a cycle of poverty. The violence and inequality they face means they remain poor and vulnerable – simply because they are women.

In the Mwakirunge dumpsite in Kenya right now, young women are trapped. The dumpsite is an unsafe environment which is poorly lit, with mounds of burning and toxic waste. They are forced to make enough money to eat by foraging – regardless of any serious environmental health hazards.

And alongside that, they face a significant risk of sexual harassment, violent assault. There is no alternative, no opportunity of an education.

This is Mwanahamisi’s story:

Mwanahamisi Mariamu lives on a dumpsite outside Mombasa in Kenya. She said: ‘I scavenge at the dumpsite. I collect bottles, bottle tops and scrap metal. I don’t know how old I am but maybe 16.

‘I also get very scared at night. The men around here drink a lot and it scares me,’ explains Mwanahamisi. ‘At night they roam around looking for girls to rape.

‘It happens to many girls, the men are strong and can be very violent so the girls have to go with the men whether they want to or not.’

She adds: ‘At night I try and stay in the house with my mother and siblings so that they don’t know I am here.’

Poverty has meant Mwanahamisi has had to stop her education: ‘I don’t go to school now and I only reached nursery level but had to leave because there was no money.

‘All I really want is to go to school so that I [can] become a teacher. I want to learn things and to be able to teach others things that I know.”

Mwanhamisi’s story, sadly, is not unusual.

Action Aid believes this is wrong and is hoping to offer these women and girls a way out with their ‘She Can’ appeal.

The She Can appeal is to expand Action Aid’s work to enable thousands of young women to live a life free from harm and violence, a life where they can be educated and are able to work themselves out of poverty.

And the UK government has said that it will match every pound raised in this appeal –  meaning twice as many women can be supported out of poverty.

Seventy per cent of the world’s poorest people are women and girls;

Two thirds of the adults in the world who cannot read or write are women;

41 million girls worldwide are still denied a primary education;

Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, but earn only a tenth of its income.

The She Can appeal wants this to change.

To learn how you can help Action Aid to provide girls like Mwanhamisi with a way to escape this life visit the Action Aid ‘She Can’ appeal website.

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