Shifting gender social norms amidst expanded expression of empowerment and agency: Out-of-school girls in Sierra Leone's EAGER project

Marlana Salmon-Letelier, Valnora Edwin, Bintu Kamara, Lena Thompson, Giulia Di Filippantonio, Johanna Arp, Isabel Pearson and Jennifer Artibello

African Educational Research Journal
Published: April 15 2025
Volume 13, Issue 2
Pages 136-147
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30918/AERJ.132.25.016

Abstract

The Every Adolescent Girl Empowered and Resilient (EAGER) project addresses the vital issue of empowering marginalized out-of-school adolescent girls in Sierra Leone through an informal education initiative. Our study, conducted by Sierra Leonean researchers using a feminist lens, explores the perspectives of both girls and caregivers on empowerment and social norms. Through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions over a three-week period, we explore how social norms shape the girls' agency and how they navigate them to create positive change. These sessions included 20 EAGER participants, 10 caregivers, 5 mentors, 2 facilitators, and one husband of an EAGER participant across three selected districts (Western Area Urban, Kambia, and Kono). The findings reveal that, while the girls operated within existing social structures, they gained confidence, assertiveness, and enhanced communication skills through the EAGER program, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to their communities and gradually shift social constraints. We believe this research offers important insights into sustainable gender empowerment through education and contributes to broader discussions about fostering agency through education within restrictive societal frameworks.

Keywords: Gender norms, Sierra Leone, empowerment, youth education, girls’ education.

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