THESE GIRLS ARE MISSINg

Girls’ education is kryptonite. It changes everything.

And that’s exactly what scares people.

“It has been one of the most eloquent statements we know of in terms of describing the unsaid.”

- Anna Obura, UNICEF

The education of girls and women is the single most effective tool for improving health and sanitation, and increasing the spread of new ideas in the developing world.

Yet in Africa few girls go to school, and even those who start first grade drop out in increasing numbers as they approach graduation.

These Girls Are Missing offers small sets of stories, sharp glimpses into a few intimate relationships layered to mirror the complex reality: Nadouba and Bintu in their West-African village; Taz and Patricia from elite St. Mary’s Secondary School in Malawi; Ethel and her mother, nearby villagers torn between their tiny farm and the modern world; a relaxed and riotous conversation among a group of Malinké elders.

Through a camera which serves as a quiet observer of the world from a young woman’s perspective, we begin to understand the conflicting forces around decisions about girls’ schooling within a family, as well as the larger society.

Original release in French, English, Swahili, Chichewa, Susu, Malinké and Poular versions. 60 Minutes.

DIRECTOR/PRODUCERS: SHARI ROBERTSON AND MICHAEL CAMERINI

PRODUCED FOR FAWE, Forum of African Women Educationalists and THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION.

PREMIERE: UN CONFERENCE ON WOMEN, BEIJING, 1995.