Letter from Côte d’Ivoire:
Smart Girls

Published in The American Scholar

Spring 2017

“Today’s lesson is on obtaining information. The practice theme is “the education of the young girl.” When Gnazebo asks for examples, hands shoot up. One girl proposes: “Aya, a young girl of Abobo, whose father refuses to send her to school. She talks with her friends before going to see him.”

Later in the lesson, Gnazebo calls on two girls. One missed a class on teenage pregnancy, so she asks her friend to fill her in.

“The causes of teenage pregnancy are lack of awareness, bad company, and the fertility of young girls,” the first student says.

“What are the elements of bad company?” the second asks.

“The difference in age between the girl and the man, going to nightclubs.”