Paper short abstract:

Burkinabe girls across the social spectrum prioritise education over marriage. While resistance is not always possible for adolescent girls, changing attitudes towards marriage are indicative of changing gender norms, and ultimately social change through education.

Paper long abstract:

Research has emphasised the continuity of traditional gender norms and attitudes in Burkina Faso (Cavin, 1998; Samb and Ridde, 2018). Through in-depth interviews with 20 girls aged 14 to 18, where they were asked about their notion of wellbeing, their experiences with schooling , health and ideals for the future, this paper seeks to understand the place of marriage and education in adolescent girls’ aspirations, and in their ambitions for ‘social success’. In this study we find that adolescent girls view schooling and marriage as two continuous competitive factors. Being educated is associated with ‘success as women’ and a key aspect of well-being, while early marriage can be a barrier to this imagined success. Girls use schooling as a strategy to delay marriages, and education is perceived to allow for more equal and successful marriages. Most importantly, the majority of adolescent girls interviewed, whether they were in or out of school, had primary or secondary school level, lived in rural or urban areas, positioned school as a priority over marriage. Our findings indicate that Burkinabe girls across the social spectrum are becoming resistant to traditional values, questioning what is socially expected of them as women. While resistance is not always possible for adolescent girls, changing attitudes towards marriage are indicative of changing gender norms, and ultimately social change.