Barriers to Girls’ Education Access and Retention in Post-War Settings: A Study of Selected Districts in Southern Tigray, Ethiopia

  The objective of this study was to explore barriers of girls’ education access and retention. The study employed a cross-sectional, exploratory design within a mixed-methods approach. The population of the study was communities in Korem Town, Raya Chercher, and Zata districts of Southern Tigray. Stratified sampling was employed to determine the study sample. More than half of the primary schools in the districts were involved using a lottery method. From each school, representatives of parents, children, teachers, school leadership, and district-level education officials were selected using purposive sampling. Accordingly, 688 (340 female) participants were involved in the study. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and questionnaires were the main data collection methods. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed concurrently. For the qualitative component, a thematic coding process was employed.  For the quantitative component, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings show that girls’ education was perceived as conditional, temporary, and less valuable than that of boys. Community attitudes reflected a deeply rooted gender hierarchy in which boys’ education was prioritized, while girls’ schooling was often seen as secondary to marriage, migration, or domestic roles. Community valuation of girls’ education was shaped by intertwined social norms, economic constraints, and cultural beliefs. The study also demonstrates that barriers to girls’ education access and retention were mutually reinforcing economic, social, psychological, safety, and security issues. Improving girls’ education in post-war Southern Tigray requires more than restoring schools, addressing the structural, normative, and psychological conditions that shape educational participation.