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Education is a key component in improving the lives of young women around the world, and the Liberia Association of Psychosocial Services (LAPS) knew that high dropout rates and early marriages were trapping teenage girls in poverty and dependency. Utilizing a version of the “tactical mapping” process learned from the New Tactics in Human Rights workshop in Liberia , LAPS helped residents of three villages develop a full picture of all the players that had an impact on girls’ development.

Changing the traditional gender attitudes of a culture is not easy work, so LAPS turned to the New Tactics project’s tactical notebooks, one of which described Ghana ’s successful efforts to liberate young girls enslaved by priests. And participants in one workshop developed a role-playing exercise that showed how the actions of parents and teenage boys had a negative impact in the girls’ lives, illustrating the importance of engaging the whole community.

LAPS found significant success in a short period of time – dropout rates for girls began to decline, and the number of pregnancies and early marriage fell by a third. Some girls started small businesses or earned scholarships, many parents reported treating their daughters more positively, and teachers received training on codes of conduct regarding female students. The work by LAPS opened a lot of eyes, and girls are seeing the benefits.