Aspirations Collide with Reality for Young Women Striving for Change in Mozambique

The World Bank, through its East Africa Girls’ Empowerment and Resilience (EAGER) program, together with the Global Financing Facility, the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, has unveiled a revealing study, written by Alexandre Chauque, Sreelakshmi Papineni, Abhilasha Sahay, and Sara Troiano, the report surveys the dreams and frustrations of more than a thousand girls and young women between the ages of 15 and 35, complemented by interviews with community members across Nampula, Sofala, and Maputo provinces. The research asks a simple but often overlooked question: what do Mozambican girls actually want for their lives, and how do norms and circumstances help or hinder those dreams?

Dreams of Education, Shadowed by Reality

The findings make clear that ambition is abundant. Nine out of ten girls aspire to complete at least secondary school, and four in ten hope to earn a university degree. Yet reality diverges sharply. Rural girls are far less likely than their urban peers to dream of higher education, with nearly 15 percent not even expecting to finish secondary school. Only a quarter of people in rural areas aim for tertiary education, compared with half in cities. Compared with neighboring Zambia and Zimbabwe, where 60 and 55 percent, respectively, aspire to university, Mozambique lags at 40 percent. Achievements fall short, too: only one in ten girls reaches her desired education level, a gap that widens in rural areas, where poverty and limited role models hold back ambitions.

Employment dreams follow a similar pattern. The majority of respondents long for stable jobs in education, health, or public services, fields seen as reliable and respectable. Retail and wholesale are popular second choices, while agriculture, the backbone of Mozambique’s economy, is widely rejected as a career path. Entrepreneurship attracts fewer than one-third, though interest rises with age and urban experience. Yet the market cannot absorb the demand. Less than one-third of women surveyed end up in jobs matching their aspirations; most are confined to informal work or agriculture. The personal stories gathered are poignant: one woman who dreamed of teaching now sells popcorn in her village, while another abandoned her nursing ambition due to the prohibitive cost of training.

Marriage and Motherhood: Timelines at Odds

Family aspirations expose the sharpest clash between hopes and social expectations. Respondents considered 28 the ideal age for marriage, but communities expected it to happen at 17, and in reality, many marry even earlier. While young women said they preferred to have their first child around 23, 60 percent became mothers during their teens. These early family responsibilities derail education and employment plans. Data shows that unmarried girls without children are twice as likely to be enrolled in school compared with peers who marry and have children early. Childbearing increases the odds of teenage employment, but mainly in low-quality or survival-driven work. The report concludes that delaying marriage and childbirth is key to unlocking girls’ potential, but this requires accessible reproductive health services, community sensitization, and family support.

Gender Norms: The Invisible Handbrake

At the heart of these struggles lie entrenched gender norms. Nearly four in ten girls believe boys should be prioritized for education when resources are scarce. Almost half accept that women should avoid male-dominated jobs, and a majority still see caregiving as women’s work, while men should provide financially. Two-thirds believe men should hold final authority in household decision-making. These attitudes are stronger in rural areas, where opportunities are fewer to begin with. Yet the study reveals a paradox: girls often imagine their communities are more conservative than they really are. For instance, many fear neighbors will judge them harshly for entering male-dominated sectors, but community members themselves show far greater acceptance. This misperception, what psychologists call “pluralistic ignorance”, creates a powerful self-imposed barrier. Correcting these mistaken beliefs could, the report argues, help free girls to chase opportunities they wrongly assume are closed.

Champions, Gatekeepers, and a Way Forward

The role of family and social networks emerges as decisive. Mothers are central figures, often the most trusted advisers for unmarried girls. They can be inspiring champions, pushing daughters to study and work, but can also be strict gatekeepers, especially on sensitive issues like contraception. After marriage, husbands dominate women’s decisions, sometimes encouraging schooling but often blocking job opportunities or family planning. Neighbors and extended relatives exert additional social pressure, reinforcing traditional roles. Yet the report finds that when families are supportive, girls flourish. One young woman recounted how her mother helped her start a business, while another described a husband who pushed her to return to school, even if he opposed her entering male-dominated work.

The report calls for multifaceted action. Expanding access to education and jobs is not enough; programs must actively shape aspirations, provide career guidance, and challenge discriminatory norms. Families, especially mothers, fathers, and husbands, must be engaged as partners, transforming them into champions rather than obstacles. Policies should also address labor mismatches by offering vocational training, socio-emotional skills, and inclusive hiring practices. Above all, interventions must help girls recognize that their communities may be more supportive than they think, recalibrating misperceptions that hold them back.

Mozambican girls and women are full of dreams: of education, meaningful work, and greater agency over their lives. But dreams collide with poverty, early marriage, gendered expectations, and structural mismatches in the labor market. By tackling these barriers and reframing community perceptions, the country has a chance to ensure that when a girl dares to dream, she can also hope to achieve.