VOA标准英语2010年-Keeping Girls in School May be a Matte

"They may be the victims of unwanted sexual advances. And unfortunately, very, very often it might come even from their teachers.”

When boys and girls reach puberty, their bodies go through many physical changes.  But for girls in Africa, the onset¹ of menstruation can bring with it discrimination, unwanted sexual advances and the end of their education.  Now a pilot study in Ghana says it doesn’t have to be that way. 

The study says when free sanitary² protection is provided to secondary school girls there is a sharp drop in absenteeism and increased participation³ in household chores and socializing.

Oxford⁴ University Professor Linda Scott led the study, which involved more than 180 girls in four remote villages in Ghana.  She says menstruation is often a taboo⁵ subject.

“I think it’s a combination of its links to sexuality and its links to bodily outputs.  We don’t usually like to talk about bodily outputs or sexuality.  And of course the fact that it affects females also has a tendency to make it more stigmatized⁶, particularly in a developing nation context,” she says.

Cost and lack of availability are two reasons rural girls in poor countries go without sanitary protection.

Scott says, “It’s so much something that people take for granted.  And even in the poor nations, people who would be middle class, and therefore government workers and NGO workers, they also would tend to take it for granted….  Also because it’s a taboo subject, it’s not something people talk about.  So it tends to be invisible.

Perceptions change

What’s more, Professor Scott says girls are perceived differently once menstruation begins.

“Part of the problem is that the onset of menstruation in remote areas of Ghana is taken as signifying the coming of actual adulthood⁷ in a way that we don’t recognize it in the West.  We don’t think of a 12 or 13-year-old girl as being marriageable or sexually available.  But actually in this context it’s a signal that she’s both,” she says.

A girl without sanitary protection faces serious consequences.
   
“Her biggest problem is that if people know about this it’s not just an embarrassment⁸ and a laughing matter.  It’s something that may actually put her in danger.  And at this time also families often feel it’s time to withdraw their economic support for the girl to continue in school.  So she suddenly starts having quite a bit less support for her continuing education,” she says.

Many of the girls, she says, simply get discouraged and drop out of school.  But they face a physical risk as well.

“Sexual harassment⁹ and sexual predators¹⁰ are a big problem even for very young girls.  Once they’re known to be sexually ready, from that perspective, they may be the victims of unwanted sexual advances.  And unfortunately, very, very often it might come even from their teachers,” she says.

In the long-term

Scott says the long-term consequences are “huge.”  While education for both boys and girls is critical for a nation’s development, ensuring girls remain in school can bring many benefits.

“There is quite a lot of data at this point to show that it has positive impact on economic development and productivity.  But in particular, very quick impact on fertility rates, infant mortality, disease transmission, nutritional¹¹ level and of course just generally improve the individual girl’s chances of having a happy and prosperous life,” she says.

The Oxford professor says government and NGO programs providing free sanitary protection could be a cost-effective way of ensuring girls’ education.  But she says it would have to be done in such a way that is culturally sensitive. Also, she says communities need to be made aware of the importance of secondary education for girls.
   
Similar but longer studies are being considered for other African counties, as well as Muslim countries in Asia.

 

1 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

2 sanitary   

adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的

参考例句：

• It's not sanitary to let flies come near food.让苍蝇接近食物是不卫生的。
• The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。

3 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

6 stigmatized   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was stigmatized as an ex-convict. 他遭人污辱，说他给判过刑。 来自辞典例句
• Such a view has been stigmatized as mechanical jurisprudence. 蔑称这种观点为机械法学。 来自辞典例句

7 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

8 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

9 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

10 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。