Despite progress, girls and women continue to be discriminated against in accessing education and within education systems. According to UNESCO, 31 million girls of primary school age are out of school. Of these, 17 million are expected never to enter school. There are also 34 million female adolescents out of school. In developing countries, adolescent girls are more likely to drop-out of secondary school than boys, particularly in rural areas.
There are many reasons that prevent girls from going to school: Poverty, pregnancy, school-based violence, child marriage and discriminatory gender norms, school fees, the threat of violence on the way to and in school, and the perceived benefits of girls’ domestic work also keep girls out-of-school. Pregnancy and child marriage cut short adolescent girls’ schooling before they have completed secondary school.
Girls’ education has a huge impact on society. Among these: educated women are less likely to die in childbirth, improve child nutrition, are less likely to marry at an early age, are more likely to find work.
Educate a girl and she will change the world.
Light your candle and join us in prayer, thought or reflection today
for all the girls who, in 2018, have not been permitted to attend school
Day 12: 6 December click here
