September 2004, insights education, Issue #3

Progress to gender equality in education

In 2000, eight Millennium Development Goals were adopted by the international community as a way of measuring development progress in all countries up to 2015. The second Millennium Development Goal (MDG 2) seeks to achieve universal primary education for all, and the third (MDG 3) is concerned with the right of women and girls to enjoy equal educational opportunities with boys and men.
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Counting gender equality in education -
not as easy as 1, 2, 3

As the 2005 deadline approaches for the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) seeking gender equality in education worldwide, we need to map who is doing what and where. According to the Global Campaign for Education’s (GCE) report ‘A Fair Chance’, only half of countries worldwide will meet the target. At the current rate, equal access to schooling in every country in the world will not occur until 2025 at the earliest.

Providing for pre-adolescent girls in India

In a survey of poor girls aged between 9 and 13 in municipal schools in Mumbai, 69% were found to be suffering from moderate to severe malnutrition. Such poverty has detrimental effects on education: 60% of those who had managed to stay in school dropped out after class seven (age 13) as there are no secondary schools nearby and their parents will not spend money on textbooks, uniforms or transport to schools elsewhere in the city. Despite government provision of universal education, in theory up to the age of 14, this last year of schooling is difficult to complete for many girls who enter the marriage and child labour markets at the age of just 13.

Menstruation as a barrier to gender equality in Uganda

Puberty can have a severe effect on girls’ performance and attendance in upper primary schools in Uganda. In many schools, girls between the ages of 11 and 14 are absent for an average of three to five days a month due to their menstrual period. Attendance is undermined because girls do not have access to adequate protection such as sanitary towels or pads. For some subjects – such as maths and science – the result of such regular absenteeism can be devastating as girls miss out on vital stages of the syllabus, resulting in gaps in the learning stages, which they find hard to catch up on later.

Home-based teachers and schooling for girls in Afghanistan

Considerable progress has been made in repairing the Taliban’s devastating impact on girls’ education in Afghanistan. Following the collaborative efforts of the government, international agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), at the beginning of the school year in March 2003, over 1.4 million girls enrolled. Afghanistan’s new constitution mandates compulsory education up to Grade 9. However, despite these successes, figures from the Ministry of Education indicate that 60% of girls remain out of school. There is considerable regional variation, and in some provinces girls’ enrolment is as low as 1%.

Community participation in girls’ education in Uganda

In Uganda, the National Strategy for Girls’ Education was developed in 1997 to accelerate implementing policy for girls’ and women’s education. The strategy aimed to improve girls’ education by promoting a coordinated approach, working with over 30 local and external donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), ministries and government agencies. The strategy helped to coordinate and regulate who is doing what and where to address the social and cultural barriers to female participation in education. It also helped to assess the availability of resources and assistance.

Reintegrating girls from fighting forces in Africa

Armed conflicts in Mozambique from 1978 to 1992, in Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002 and still ongoing in Northern Uganda (since 1987) have displaced, killed and maimed millions. Hospitals, roads and schools have been destroyed, communities impoverished and professionals such as teachers and nurses killed. In each conflict thousands of boys and girls as young as seven were forcibly recruited into the fighting forces. The experience has affected many of them emotionally and physically, and deprived them of years of education. New research tackles the complex question of how best to reintegrate former girl soldiers back into society and education.

Schooling for girls in rural Peru

Compared with other developing countries and regions, Latin America boasts impressive school enrolment figures for both girls and boys. During the 1990s, most countries in the region achieved a high universal enrolment (96.6%) in primary education. Peru follows the regional trend – statistics for the year 2000 show an enrolment of 96.9% in primary education and 85.9% in secondary education. While primary schools have almost equal numbers of boys and girls enrolled (Gender Parity Index level of 0.99), fewer girls are still enrolled at secondary level (GPI level of 0.93).

Sites for sore eyes

Further web resources.

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