Gender
inequality in education is extreme. Girls are less likely to access school, to
remain in school or to achieve in education. Education
helps men and women claim their rights and realise their potential in the
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.
Everybody has the right to
education, which has been recognised since the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The right to free and compulsory primary education,
without discrimination and of good quality, has been reaffirmed in all major
international human rights conventions. Many of these same instruments
encourage, but do not guarantee, post-primary education. These rights have been
further elaborated to address issues like quality and equity, moving forward
the issue of what the right to education means, and exploring how it can be achieved.
As a minimum: states must ensure that basic education is available, accessible,
acceptable and adaptable for all. (4A scheme) The right of girls to education
is one of the most critical of all rights – because education plays an
important role in enabling girls and women to secure other rights.
Cultural and traditional values
stand between girls and their prospects for education. The achievement of girls’ right to
education can address some of societies’ deeply rooted inequalities, which
condemn millions of girls to a life without quality education – and, therefore,
also all too often to a life of missed opportunities. Improving educational
opportunities for girls and women helps them to develop skills that allow them
to make decisions and influence community change in key areas. One reason for
denying girls and women their right to an education is rarely articulated by
those in charge: that is their fear of the power that girls will have through
education. There is still some resistance to the idea that girls and women can
be trusted with education. Education is also seen in some societies as a fear
of change and now with globalization, the fear becomes even greater- fear to
lose the cultural identity, fear of moving towards the unknown or the unwanted,
fear of dissolving in the many others.
Basic education provides girls and
women with an understanding of basic health, nutrition and family planning,
giving them choices and the power to decide over their own lives and bodies.
Women's education leads directly to better reproductive health, improved family
health, economic growth, for the family and for society, as well as lower rates
of child mortality and malnutrition. It is also key in the fight against the
spread of HIV & AIDS.
Educating
girls and women is an important step in overcoming poverty. Inequality and
poverty are not inevitable. “The focus on poverty reduction enables the right
to education to be a powerful tool in making a change in the lives of girls and
women. Poverty has been universally affirmed as a key obstacle to the enjoyment
of human rights, and it has a visible gender profile. The main reason for this
is the fact that poverty results from violations of human rights, including the
right to education, which disproportionately affect girls and women. Various
grounds of discrimination combine, trapping girls in a vicious downward circle
of denied rights. Denial of the right to education leads to exclusion from the
labour market and marginalisation into the informal sector or unpaid work. This
perpetuates and increases women’s poverty.”
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