WISER Girls and Social Reproductive Labor
By adopting a WID approach, WISER does not take into account the role of social reproductive labor as a barrier to secondary school entry. Social reproductive labor primarily is done by low-income women, which is the majority of the population in Muhuhru Bay. As social reproductive work includes domestic work, many girls cannot pursue their education because they have responsibilities in the home that without their labor, would not be completed. These responsibilities may include cooking, cleaning, taking care of younger siblings, taking care of older family members, or completing agricultural work. By not taking action to address the disproportionate burden social reproductive work has on women and then expecting women to also pursue education simultaneously, the workload and societal burden for women increases.
Addressing Barriers
WISER has done immensely good work in Kenya. They address financial and health barriers to education by providing scholarships, access to clinics, reproductive education, and menstruation products. They aim to target the most vulneable girls in the most vulnerable communities. They have given women and girls opportunities that they otherwise would not have had by establishing a secondary school for girls in an area where girls education was not a priority. Graduates of the WISER school have a 100% pass rate of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Educationand many go on to higher education. WISER also partners with other NGOs to enroll girls from impoverished communities across Kenya.
Despite addressing so many barriers to education, WISER does not address a major widespread barrier in the Global South, social reproductive labor. WISER states that they enroll "high potential" girls from the most vulnerable areas. The opportunities that these girls receive from being able to attend secondary school is remarkable. However, so many girls are left out of this opportunity. When WISER states that they seek to enroll "high potential" girls, they are overlooking girls who may have high potential but simply do not have the opportunities to explore their potential because they have responsibilities in the home that take away from time they could spend on their education.
