JOYCE BANDA / CAROLINE LAMBERT
The case for narrowing the gender gap is well established, and programs seeking to empower women in sub-Saharan Africa have multiplied. Yet a critical piece is missing: a focus on rural girls from zero to 10 years old. Discrimination and social norms that penalize girls and women do not start at adolescence, and by the time girls are 10, it is often too late to undo the damage that has already been done. As an African woman leader who grew up on African soil, Joyce Banda has seen first-hand how young rural girls face obstacles that shape the rest of their lives. From Day One makes the case of how, if African girls are to realize their potential and become the leaders that their continent so badly needs, gender interventions should and can start from day one.
