Countries across the globe suffer from high rates
of youth unemployment and inactivity. The Maldives
are not immune. Despite efforts by the government
to increase employment opportunities among
young Maldivians, including the establishment
of employment quotas for nationals, results have
been underwhelming. Young people face barriers
such as social and gender norms around women’s
role in society, absence of role models to look up
to, and few jobs perceived as “suitable” for youth,
especially for girls. Parental control and influence
on youth’s decision-making is strong, and depending
on the child’s gender, parents have different
career preferences.
Lack of a job leads many young Maldivians to feel
disenfranchised, excluded, and perceived as idle and
disconnected from the fabric of society. In the case
of young women, they often see their options as very
limited, and end up leaving school, and starting a family,
at an early age. We set out to test whether we could
change girls’ perceptions of their future possibilities
through a workshop with an unconventional twist – in a
country were soccer is traditionally male-dominated, the
workshop was led by a female soccer player.