Despite the numerous demonstrations and studies conducted that prove that women’s education is directly proportional to the development of that country, the inequality in education continues to persist.
Globally, 129 million girls are not educated. From this number, 32 million are of primary school level, 30 million are of lower secondary school level and 67 million are of upper secondary school level. In countries affected by conflict, girls are twice as likely to be out of education.
Only 49% of the countries across the world have achieved equality in education at the primary school level. The disparity only increases from secondary school onwards.
Global figures also neglect the historical exclusion of girls and women from education, reflected in the statistic that two thirds of the world’s 758 million illiterate adults are women.
Many countries that demonstrate higher retention rates at the primary levels are failing to transfer these gains toward transitioning of girls to the secondary level. For example, in Tanzania, near universal enrollment for girls at the primary level has been achieved with a retention rate of 89.2%, yet girls’ transition rate to secondary level is only 32.3%.
Inequalities and discrimination linked to location, poverty, and gender intersect to compound disparities in completion and transition rates. In 2013 in Nigeria, for example, over 90% of adolescents from rich households, whether urban or rural, boy or girl, were likely to complete lower secondary education whereas only 3% of poor rural young women completed lower secondary school, compared with 17% of poor rural young men.
Among the many reasons for gender inequality are education, poverty, cultural norms, child marriage, gender-based violence, and labor. In schools, sanitation proves to be an obstacle for female students. In some cases, teaching practices are not gender responsive and hence can be problematic.
Equality in quality education helps the community, and in turn the country gains productive individuals who can contribute to the nation’s development. It is equally beneficial for boys as it is for girls. Due to the stigma among boys that they should help with the family business rather than attend school, many boys tend to drop out of school. The increase in equality in education also reduces the rate at which boys drop out of school. Equality in education also helps reduce gender based violence, child marriages, child labor, and stigma within societies and cultures.
To tackle this issue, international laws such as The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979, CEDAW) have been created. This law includes:
the same conditions for access to studies and diplomas at all educational levels, in both urban and rural areas
the same quality of education
the elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women (see below)
the same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and other study grants
the same access to programs of continuing education, including literacy programs, particularly those aimed at reducing the gender gap in education
the reduction of female student drop-out rates and programs for women and girls who have left school prematurely
the same opportunity to participate in sports and physical education
access to educational information on health, including advice on family planning.
The implementation of CEDAW has greatly impacted many nations across the world. Examples include Turkey, Honduras, Austria, Cambodia and Uganda. These countries have taken the necessary steps towards improving the rate of equality in education and towards providing better infrastructure for education. Despite these improvements, the gap between the two continues to persist and more can be done to reduce the gap further.
Remember, change starts with you.
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