Women and girls Education

Women and girls

Girls make up for more than 50% of those 75 million children currently denied primary education, and women form the vast majority of the 776 million illiterate persons worldwide.

The EFA gender equality goal for 2005 was missed by a long shot and we are hardly likely to get there by 2015.

Without access to education, these women and girls will never claim their rights and will never have the power to make their own choices, securing a life of dignity for themselves and their daughters. Broken societies will never heal and economies never develop without education for all women and girls - it is that simple!

We have tried to highlight a few issues surrounding gender and the right to education under the following headings:

Issues

Gender inequality in education is extreme. Girls are less likely to access school, to remain in school or to achieve in education. Despite almost 30 years of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of  Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and 20 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), today ‘Girls make up around 56 per cent of the 77 million children not in school, and women make up two thirds of the adults who are illiterate. Even girls who do enrol in school may have irregular attendance due to other demands on them, and the fact that their education may not be prioritised. Girls are more likely to repeat years, to drop out early and to fail key subjects, and in most countries girls are less likely to complete the transition to secondary schooling. Sadly, in many places, girls who do attend school may be subject to physical and mental abuse. There are numerous reports of teachers taking advantage of their position of power and sexually abusing girls.’

Education helps men and women claim their rights and realise their potential in economic, political and social arenas. It is also the single most powerful way to lift people out of poverty. Education plays a particularly important role as a foundation for girls’ development towards adult life. It should be an intrinsic part of any strategy to address the gender-based discrimination against women and girls that remains prevalent in many societies. Gender equality requires adapting equally to the needs and interests of girls and boys. “International human rights law lays down a three fold set of criteria where by girls should have an equal right to education, equal right in education and their equal rights should be protected and promoted through education.” (Tomasevski, 2005)