Céline, 2021 © Noémie de Bellaigue
The Girls of Kandi
Noémie de Bellaigue
2021 – 2024 — Niger
About this series
The girls’ boarding school is located in the heart of Kandi, a city in northern Benin about 700 kilometers north of Cotonou. Established by nuns in 1966, it hosts around sixty teenage girls annually, ranging from the sixth grade level to senior high school. Some of the girls also study trades such as hairdressing, sewing, or weaving on-site.
The students come from diverse ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds — Mokolé, Fulani, Bariba, Dendi, Boo; both Christian and Muslim. They are taught the value of unity and communal living, overcoming their differences to shape their futures with resistance.
Although education became free for girls in Benin in 2015, only 19.7% of girls completed lower secondary education in 2023. The percentage drops drastically in Alibori, where the boarding school is located. This region faces rising poverty, exacerbated by the deteriorating situation in the Sahel and the political turmoil between Niger and Benin. These challenges perpetuate issues such as school dropout, child labor, early pregnancies, forced marriages and gender-based violence.
I began photographing this school and its students in 2016 and have returned every year since. Born from a feeling of urgency to preserve this place, what started as documentation has evolved into an ode to the resilience of these young women.
The students come from diverse ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds — Mokolé, Fulani, Bariba, Dendi, Boo; both Christian and Muslim. They are taught the value of unity and communal living, overcoming their differences to shape their futures with resistance.
Although education became free for girls in Benin in 2015, only 19.7% of girls completed lower secondary education in 2023. The percentage drops drastically in Alibori, where the boarding school is located. This region faces rising poverty, exacerbated by the deteriorating situation in the Sahel and the political turmoil between Niger and Benin. These challenges perpetuate issues such as school dropout, child labor, early pregnancies, forced marriages and gender-based violence.
I began photographing this school and its students in 2016 and have returned every year since. Born from a feeling of urgency to preserve this place, what started as documentation has evolved into an ode to the resilience of these young women.
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
© Noémie de Bellaigue
Photographer: Noémie de Bellaigue
Nationality: French
Based in: Berlin – Germany
Website: noemiedebellaigue.com
Instagram: @noedebell