School Girls, Lane Girls

I read the Liberia headlines last week: 24 Students Become Pregnant at Guthrie (June 9, 2008, C. Emmanuel Johnson)

"The Ministry of Education has constituted a team to investigate circumstances surrounding the pregnancy of about 24 students at the Guthrie School System in Bomi County.
Education Minister Dr. Joseph Korto said when facts are established that the impregnate students were under the age, the matter would be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution because of the statutory nature. He told a news conference Saturday in Monrovia that reports of sexual activities among students and teachers were worrisome."

Last night a friend introduced me to a film by Carielle Doe who lived and worked in Liberia as an aid worker in 2005. In 2006, she went back to Liberia to create her documentary "School Girls, Lane Girls" as her master's thesis in Journalism. It focuses on young girls in Monrovia who sell thier bodies in order to pay for thier education (which is not free in Liberia). Save the Children, a UK Charity, estimates between 60-80% of young school girls in Monrovia sell their bodies to make money to pay for the fees. This is staggering. The education system is not very good either.
After years of civil war, the smallest West African nation of Liberia was ripe for change. In 2006, they welcomed Africa’s first female president as their new head of state. Her agenda included creating new opportunities for Liberian women. Many young girls in Liberia want to take advantage of the opportunities by going to school. Unfortunately the girls’ methods of funding an education may do them more harm than good.

The film explains how after the long war, basic survival has become a way of life for Liberians. Prostitution is just an extention of the survival for these young girls, many of of whom have left their parents and homes in villages to come to Monrovia for school.

Click here to watch the Trailer.