Abigail*, a young woman who lives in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare became pregnant by a much older married man when she was 14. She had left school because her mother couldn’t afford to pay for her fees, books and other school supplies. Her mother was also struggling to buy food and other basics for the family. The man had given her money. She felt she couldn’t refuse him as he was helping her.

Abigail had had no sex education in school and didn’t know how to prevent pregnancy. When she was 16, she told us: “I wish to go back to school because I am still a child”.

In these trying circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, many vulnerable groups will be made even more so. Key among them are young girls from low-income backgrounds who risk falling into the same circumstances as Abigail. The crisis is likely to put them at higher risks of sexual violence and exploitation, trafficking, child marriage, forced labour, and social exclusion.

How school closures affect girls

School closures harm girls in many ways, often with long-term consequences.

Across the continent, girls already face a host of barriers to education that result in substantial gender disparities. They are also exposed to many abuses, including child marriage and female genital mutilation, which end their education abruptly. Read more via African Arguments