EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AND SOCIAL COHESION AMONG MANDINGO WOMEN IN NIMBA COUNTY, LIBERIA

Fair access to education is widely presented as a foundation for women’s inclusion and community trust, yet in post-conflict Liberia educational opportunity remains unevenly distributed. Mandingo women in Nimba County, a Muslim minority in a county marked by inter-group tension, have received little direct study. This article reports the first specific objective of a wider study of equity and social cohesion: to determine the interplay between educational equity in fostering social cohesion among Mandingo women, asking how educational equity fosters social cohesion among them. Guided by Feminist Theory and Social Cohesion Theory, the study used a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. A five-point Likert questionnaire was administered to a simple random sample of adult Mandingo women in Electoral Districts 2 to 5 (399 of 400 returned), and nine purposively selected participants were interviewed. Data were analysed descriptively in SPSS and thematically. Most respondents disagreed that educational opportunities are equally available (55.7%) or that every Mandingo woman has equal access to education (63.2%), yet 81.7% to 90.2% agreed that equal education reduces social barriers, builds bonds, improves relationships and eases cooperation. Interviewees linked unequal access to financial hardship, male influence over schooling and early marriage, and described education as allowing women to “stand and know each other.” The findings reveal a gap between the value women attach to educational equity and the access they experience. Because the evidence is perceptual and descriptive, it indicates perceived links rather than causal effects. Community-based, culturally sensitive education for women and girls is recommended.