An adolescent girl living in Rwanda, especially one living in poverty, faces unique, intersectional challenges in her community which severely hinder her ability to realize her full potential, enjoy her rights, and ensure a healthy, prosperous future for herself, her family, and her community. Many of the challenges girls in Rwanda face are directly linked to gender inequality and structural barriers, propped up by harmful gender norms. Rwandan gender biases perpetuate the idea that men are generally superior to women. From a young age, girls and boys in Rwanda are prepared to fulfill socially expected gender roles as adults, where women are meant to become wives, mothers, and caregivers in the domestic realm, while men take on the roles of leaders, decision makers, and economic providers. Despite government efforts to encourage girls to study, gender norms still enforce a system which prioritizes boys’ education, and in which many girls don’t get a chance to complete secondary school due to many hours spent daily on unpaid care work, affecting their performance at school and leading to school dropouts.
