UNESCO Says Education Of Girl Child Will End Child Marriages

UNESCO marks the International Day of the Girl Child today, with mind-boggling statistics about the implications, in missed opportunities, for nations such as Nigeria in leaving the girl-child in the doldrums, uneducated. With 5.5million girls out of school, Nigeria leads Africa in gender discrimination. Ethiopia, Nigeria’s opponent in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match on Sunday, has one million girls left out of the school system. This contrasts sharply with the 60,000 uneducated girls in Rwanda and the 170,000 in Uganda.

It is the view of UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report that if all girls went to primary school, one-sixth of child marriages could be prevented among girls aged under 15 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia. And if all girls got the chance to go to secondary school, child marriages could be reduced by two-thirds in these regions, saving almost two million girls from becoming child brides.

Mariam Khalique, teacher of Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, the girl shot in the head by the Taliban, for campaigning for women’s education, said: “Every hour counts– we must educate girls to help bring about changes quickly in our society. Education gives girls dignity. How can you change your life if you don’t know how? If girls and women are empowered they can take control of their own lives and their bodies. That is why education is priceless and important for girls and women not only in Pakistan but all around the world.” The new EFA GMR analysis, ‘Education Transforms’, shows that one in eight girls is married by the age of 15 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia. It shows how education can empower girls to find greater confidence and freedom to make decisions that affect their own lives. In Ethiopia, for example, 32 per cent of girls with less than primary education were married before the age of 15 years, compared with less than 9 per cent of those with a secondary education.

“Educating girls is one of the best investments we can make”, said Pauline Rose, director of the EFA Global Monitoring Report, “and yet 31 million girls of primary school age out of school, and 17 million are expected never to enter school at all. This situation desperately needs addressing.”

In addition to preventing child marriages, the EFA GMR’s new analysis shows that educating girls can also prevent them from becoming mothers themselves when just children, risking their own, and their babies’ health in early childbirth. ‘Education transforms’ shows that one in seven girls has given birth by the age of 17 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia. Yet 10 per cent fewer girls would become pregnant at an age when they should be in school if they had a primary education. There would be 59 per cent fewer pregnancies among girls under 17 years if all girls had a secondary education.

The release is accompanied by a campaign action calling for world leaders to prioritize good quality and equal education in the new development agenda after 2015. Already, campaigners from almost 90 countries have shown their support.

Culled from PM News