What works in girls empowerment and why? Examining PLAN-Aflatoun’s Project for empowering girls through finance and life skills education

This study is about what works in relation to girls’ empowerment through education. Taking the example of a project designed by PLAN and Aflatoun and designed for Rwanda with two local NGOs, RWAMREC and YWCA, the study considers how the project was designed to take into consideration the needs of girls in relation to their empowerment. In particular, from a feminist perspective on policy design, this study is based on close engagement with Aflatoun staff and reports in particular. The study analyses such reports, as well as the data on which they relied on for planning, and the process of design of the curriculum and the project. In particular the study identifies those informed through the course of the project design process, and considers how they are informed about the priorities when it comes to girls’ empowerment through education. One of the distinctive features of this study was that the researcher was motivated to comment on the policy design process by one of the key institutions involved (Aflatoun). This led to some interaction and learning on both sides. A key finding of the study is that throughout the processes of curriculum development and project design, local partners are involved, but the voices of the girls themselves are mainly notable by their absence. At best, teachers act as informants about their priorities and their needs. One of the problems is that the pilot study on which the project draws lessons was conducted in other countries except in Rwanda. This meant that a full contextualization is still a challenge to the pro-gram. PLAN-Aflatoun recognized this and allowed for in their ‘Contextualization Manual’, but the study concludes that it is important to work on contextualizing the policies when implementing projects and/or programs.