and the field of study. In Eritrea it is believed that early marriage secures more children. On the other hand, an unmarried female can be considered as a burden to the collective family and societal structure. Families in rural areas expect there daughters to get married early sometimes before the age of 18 years old. The average distance for elementary, middle and secondary school levels is contributing to the low education enrollment for women. At a national level, on average students are required to travel 5.3 km at elementary school level, 21.76 km at middle school level and 63.53 km at secondary school level. Schools are not close to students’ homes or villages and the average distance increases with the increase in the level of schooling (elementary school, middle school, secondary school). The reason for this is due to a lack of schools particularly middle and secondary schools being built in more remote areas of Eritrea. An Eritrean girl must travel a long distance, or either, leave home to live in a rented house or with relatives outside the family village. This is hard for girls who are generally not allowed to travel long distances or rent houses in the urban areas to continue their education for safety reasons. Distance to the schools is a major barrier to girls education in Eritrea. Women represent about 50% of all teachers in elementary-level schools, and about 10% of all teachers at middle and secondary-level schools. Marriage Almost 40 percent of women in Eritrea are married by their 21st birthday. Limited access to education is associated with the high prevalence of child marriage in Eritrea. 64% of women aged 20–24 with no education and 53% with primary education were married by 21 years old, compared to just 12% of women with secondary education or higher. The Eritrean Civil Code (articles 329 and 581) sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 years for both girls and boys although this is the case because of social norms women still get married at younger ages. This makes it difficult for women to pursue higher education because they are expected to work in subsistence agriculture and prepare food for their family at a young age. (Nolan White, All) References