The challenges to female education are linked to poverty as well as to attitudes and
practices rooted in patriarchal traditions and social norms. From an early
age, girls are taught that they have different roles and responsibilities from
boys and that their priority is to attend to household duties. Such a
projection of gender-restrictive roles is reinforced by their extended family, their school, their church or mosque, their wider
community and the media. In poor rural communities,
many girls go from being economically dependent on their fathers, to being
economically dependent on their husbands. Even in the case of orphanage, the
girls’ guardians will try to secure a profitable marriage as soon as possible
to “guarantee that she has a future”.
Unfortunately, it is still rare for
education to be associated with a girl’s ability to get herself and her family
out of the poverty cycle. Most parents and guardians are simply not aware that
educating their girls can create benefits, also for them.
The benefits of education
Girl education
is not only a fundamental human right and also the most crucial means to
fulfilling other development objectives. It changes the lives of vulnerable
girls, empowers them and gives them a chance to take responsibility for their
own future. The benefits of education include a higher income, a lower likelihood of contracting HIV/AIDS and raising healthier children.
higher income
o
critical skills and tools learnt in
school help girls better provide for themselves and for their children
o for every additional
year of primary school, a girls’ eventual wages increase by 10 to 20 %, and
with an extra year of secondary school by 15 to 25%[1]
o an educated mother will
reinvest most of her income in her family’s wellbeing
o
an educated female population
increases their country's overall productivity and enhances national economic
growth
less likely to become HIV-positive
o
women
with post-primary education are 5 times more likely than illiterate women to be
educated on the topic of HIV and AIDS[2]
o
educated
girls are more likely to know that HIV can be transmitted by breastfeeding and
that the risk of mother to child transmission can be reduced by taking drugs
during pregnancy
o knowing about condoms can reduce the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and helps to decrease the
spread of the virus by promoting safer sex practices
marry later and give birth in health facilities[3]
o
staying
in school helps girls marry, and have children at a later age
o
staying
in school helps to diminish teen pregnancy (being born to a mother under 18
increases the risk of infant mortality by 60%)
o
in
Burkina Faso, mothers with secondary education are 50% more likely to give
birth in health facilities
healthier children[4]
o
education gives women more control
over how many children they have
o
a child whose mother can read is twice
as likely to live past age 5
o
an
extra year of female schooling reduces fertility rates by 10%
protect her children
from illegal practices and promote education
o
educating girls would help child
marriage fall by 14%[5]
o an educated mother will more likely protect her daughter against
female genital mutilation
o once a mother, an
educated girl will actively promote her children’s schooling
+
general health and well-being in her family will
improve
o
education increases access to
treatment and helps combat stigma
o
children of educated mothers are more
likely to be vaccinated and less likely to be stunted because of malnourishment
Giving girls
access to quality education creates a positive spillover dynamic that has the
power of changing not only that one girl’s future, but also the future of her
children and of her grandchildren. It can break the vicious cycle trapping
girls in a voiceless and powerless life.