Kaitlyn ProutOnline Contemporary Social Issues

GNED-2057Emily Brett

April 3, 2014

Education is Empowerment:Girls’ Education in Third World Countries

ThesisWhen girls are given access to education, they

become empowered to create their own futures and have independence over their own lives.

Agenda• What the issue is, and the three main causes: Marriage and Motherhood, Violence, and Poverty

• Who is helping to find a solution: Malala Yousafzai, and 1GOAL

• What education can allow girls to do and the role of feminism.

What is the issue?Girls, mainly those who are living in developing

countries (Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, etc.), are being denied access to education.

1 in 5 girls, or approximately 65 million girls are out of school today (Because I Am a Girl, 2014).

Instead of going to school, these girls are being forced into marriage and childhood motherhood, thrust into violence, or are suffering through poverty.

MarriageEvery day 39,000 girls under the age of 18 are

getting married (Plan Limited, 2013).Girls are often taken out of school for preparation

for a wedding, and once they are wed, they are not allowed to continue school.

Girls with no education are three times more likely to marry before 18 than those with a secondary or higher education (Plan Limited, 2013).

The Effects of Marriage on GirlsWorldwide, nearly 50 percent of all sexual assaults are against

girls 15 years or younger (GirlUp: United Nations Foundation, 2012).

Girls who are married younger than 18 have a higher risk of contracting STDs, and HIV.

Girls who complete high school are 6 times less likely to become brides (CARE: Child Marriage, 2013).

Marriage should not be an alternative to education. Girls should be given the privilege and opportunity to better their own lives, and feel ready for motherhood, as opposed to being forced into it.

“I was broken inside, as my dream to educate myself remained unfulfilled, and on top of that, I started to doubt my abilities to change my life.” – Lutfa, a young woman who was married at 17

Motherhood7.3 million girls under the age of 18 give birth every year, and 2

million of these births are to girls under the age of 15 (UNFPA, 2013).

70,000 children die every year due to pregnancy and childbirth. (UNFPA, 2013).

Girls face potential complications for childhood motherhood: obstetric fistula, and maternal death during birth.

Babies are more likely to be unhealthy, or born prematurely. Is it really fair that both the mother’s, and the baby’s health are at

risk if a girl is forced to become pregnant as a child?

UNFPA Executive DirectorDr. Babatunde Osotimehin says:

"Too often, society blames only the girl for getting pregnant. The reality is that adolescent pregnancy is most often not the result of a deliberate choice, but rather the absence of choices, and of circumstances beyond a girl's control. It is a consequence of little or

no access to school, employment, quality information and health care”

(The Girl Effect, 2013).

Violence Against GirlsMost violence against girls is sexual in nature:

1 in 3 girls have an unwanted sexual experience before the age of 18 (The Girl Effect, 2013).

However, many girls are in fear of violence in their day to day lives: many avoid going to school for fear of being kidnapped or attacked, and harassed.

Effects of Violence (UNAIDS: Together for Girls, n.d.)

PovertyPoverty is a downward cycle: many girls face it because there is not

enough clean water, food, money, etc. to go around to support their families.

Poverty can be described as the lack of basic human necessities: food, clean water, shelter, healthcare and education.

200 million children suffer from malnutrition, and sadly 3.5 million die every year (CARE: Child Nutrition, 2013).

A girl is more likely to succeed in life if she is not facing poverty!

Effects of PovertyMalnourished childhood mothers are more likely to

die in childbirth.Any of these children have an increased risk of

contracting diseases and death.The impact of poverty is so severe, that in 1000 days

any effects are irreversible. (CARE: Child Nutrition, 2013).

Malala YousafzaiMalala was 15 years old when she was shot in the

head by a Taliban member during a bus raid in October 2012.

Malala had been working for the BBC under a guise, and was journaling about her experiences at school in Pakistan; the Taliban were targeting her for this.

Malala was hospitalized in the UK, and became an overnight hero.

She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, for her efforts in defending the rights of girls to go to school, but did not win.

(Malala Fund, 2013).

“I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to

do is wrong, that education is our basic right.”- Malala Yousafzai

1GOAL Is run by the Global Campaign of Education, and brings together

football (soccer), and was created to help uphold the United Nations’ Millennium Goals of having every child attend primary school by 2015.

1GOAL was launched at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and has gained the support of over 200 athletes, and of April 2, 2014, 18 million supporters from across the globe.

They have raised over $4 million to support the goals. Mission Statement: 1GOAL is a campaign seizing the power of

football to get all children into school and learning. Raising our voices all over the world we believe that, together, we can make education a reality for the millions of boys and girls who remain out of school.

(1GOAL, 2010).

“With your help, we could have billions of fans cheering not just for their teams, but for one team: 1GOAL. This is our moment to shine; we can bring millions of children in from the shadows of ignorance,

and light up their lives with the legacy of education.” - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah Co-Founder and Global Co-

Chair, 1GOAL, and Queen of Jordan.

What Girls are Capable of Education is truly empowerment! If a girl receives an education:

Her income, will be 10-20% higher for every year she completes of school (CARE: Girls Education, 2013).

If every Ethiopian girl completed secondary school, half a billion dollars would be added to the country's national income every year(Eitel, M., 2013).

If 10% more girls attend school, a country’s GDP increases by an average of 3% (Plan International, 2014).

And so, so much more!

The Role of FeminismEducation allows for opportunity, preparedness, and empowerment.For girls, the need for education is high: without it, they are

susceptible to harsh conditions, and higher risks of disease, death, and childhood motherhood.

Women and girls are viewed as ‘lesser’ in society within these developing countries: their education is of no value to members of their societies.

However, girls are capable of so many things! They are continuously proving that they are the solution.

Educating girls, as aforementioned, allows them to become stronger, earn significantly more money to support themselves, avoid violence, and be able to have the right to choose what she wants for herself, without intervention.

The Solutions The solutions to this problem are many in numbers, but may not

have the desired immediate effect. Awareness is the number one way of solving this problem: the

more people who are aware of the unfair conditions that girls are facing, the more will actually be done about it.

Donations are appreciated, but to companies like The Girl Effect, or Because I am a Girl, as they are directly helping, and proving that they are, girls from all developing countries succeed. Donations of books and school supplies, as well as money are great!

Sharing is Caring: is an adage which everyone heard as kids: it’s true - by sharing information and stories to people, more can be done to fix the problem.

Empowerment: proving to these girls that they are the solution themselves, but only if they continue through strife and believing that they have the power to beat oppression!

“If you change the prospects of an adolescent girl on a big enough scale, you will transform societies.”

- Mark Lowcock

References1GOAL. (2010). About 1GOAL. Retrieved from http://www.join1goal.org/about-1GOAL.php

CARE. (2013). Child Marriage. Retrieved from http://www.care.org/work/womens-empowerment/child-marriage

Eital, M. (May 2, 2013). Girls are the Key to Solving Poverty: The Girl Effect. Retrieved from http://www.girleffect.org/news/2013/05/girls-are-the-key-to-solving-poverty/

GirlUp: United Nations Fund. (2012). Safety and Violence. Retrieved from http://www.girlup.org/learn/safety-and-violence.html

Moloney-Kitts, M. (June 18, 2013). How to Tackle the Root Cause of Violence Against Girls: The Girl Effect. Retrieved from http://www.girleffect.org/explore/breaking-the-cycle-of-violence-against-girls/how-to-tackle-the-root-causes-of-violence-against-girls/

Plan International. (2014). Why Girls? Retrieved from http://plan-international.org/girls/why-girls.php

Plan Limited. (2013). A Girl’s Right to Say No to Marriage. Retrieved from http://plan-international.org/files/global/publications/campaigns/exec-summ-girls-right-to-say-no-marriage-english.pdf

The Malala Fund. (2013). Who Is Malala? Retrieved from http://malalafund.org/#section-02

UNAIDS: Together for Girls. (n.d.) Issue. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http://www.togetherforgirls.org/#/issue/8

United Nations Population Fund. (December 11, 2013). UNFPA State Of World Population Report 2013: Motherhood In Childhood. Pp. ‘Overview’, 18.