Education for Young Women and Children

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 Education reduces inequality and poverty and boosts economic growth. It engenders an individual’s independence and their potential to lead a healthy life while participating in communities to restore peace and stability when needed. As the famous saying goes “Knowledge is power” which is gained through education and schooling. Education is important not only to male but also too female. Many people risked their own life to get education for women and girls, such as Malala she was shot in the head just fighting for her rights, girls’ rights, everyone’s education is important no matter what and everyone deserves it. Education is a human right for everyone. Education has countless benefits and almost no disadvantages if carried out effectively. However, 258 million children and young adults are still out of school since 2018, and ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, this number has exponentially increased. Education is a necessity; it aids the individual to become more independent while making their own decisions. Poverty is still one of the most prominent obstacles to education. Children from lower-income households are almost five times more likely to not have access to primary school. The burden of education rests on the family's shoulders rather than the government, this gives the parents the rights to deny their children’s access to education when the children could contribute to the family’s income instead. Statistics from the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) not only shows that there are many more girls out-of-school than boys, but it also shows that its rate increases throughout the stages of education: primary education, lower secondary education, and upper secondary education (not counting pre-primary and tertiary education).With lesser funds to live on, parents enroll their sons in school rather than their daughter for a higher return on investment. Many less developed countries share the same cultural ideology where women should marry and have kids, while men should protect and provide for the family. This sets back the women in the workplace, making it seem unnecessary to educate women. About 35 million children worldwide are forcibly displaced. Only 50% of these children attend primary school and 25% secondary school. Children living in refugee camps are 2 times as unlikely to attend school compared to other children. 4 million children, ageing between 5 and 17, do not attend any education and only 1% of children living in refugee camps embark on tertiary education, limiting their opportunities. However, girls have an even greater chance to be out of school, as they are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school compared to girls living in non-conflict areas (Refugee Education in Crisis 4).Many organizations such as UNICEF and the Malala Fund have been funding projects to build schools and institutions to increase the chances of children living in poor areas to access education. This is a particularly important move, as without infrastructures it is ridiculously hard for students to take their education seriously. Hundreds and thousands of NGOs, just like with the building of schools, are sending resources to remote areas, such as books, stationery, boards, tables, and chairs, as well as teachers themselves. This solution is efficient in the short term, but not sustainable.Before gender, disability is the most serious barrier to access to education worldwide. The worst situations are when disabled children are also struck by poverty and gender inequality. An average of 93 million children worldwide live with disabilities, and less than 50% of the children attend school, compared to 13% of children without disabilities. But just like any other child, they have their dreams and ambitions, and their talents and skills.Covid-19 did not only limit children’s access to education, but it also set back some children, especially children living in poverty, girls, and disabled children. 370 million children live on school feeding programmes so those children could not nurture, making them even more vulnerable (Education). Children are not only being vulnerable to malnutrition but also sexual and gender-based abuse and violence at home. All the psychological and physical traumas that result from that build a far higher barrier for children regarding their access to education. These issues are multiplied for refugees and displaced children, which had to move due to Covid-19.Make Education for lower income families the Government’s Responsibility Rather than the Parent’s. the government can make are restricting child labor, and child marriage more diligently, and building amenities in schools for the convenience of students. Disabled children should also have extra help and guidance from the government, as many parents do not know how to handle their disabled children in all cases. An idea might be to ensure completely free education to disabled children, in order to secure their access to education. It is important to revisit all curriculums, to omit any discrimination, to facilitate the educational environment. Higher-quality education is required as well to guarantee access to education at higher levels. Teacher training is also a particularly important aspect, as teachers are the children’s first adult role models after their parents. Create more jobs for women. Governments should imperative secure laws to prevent discrimination while employing, as well as encourage women to work in field less famous for women such as STEM. Organizations can also help women with their CVs in order to ensure their employability, where hopefully businesses will attain an almost 50/50 number of employees from each gender. This as well as should be paired with social awareness through campaigns, the systematic need for women to have equal job opportunities to men is crucial, not only to the advancement of the economy but to gender parity in education.  

Written By: Twarita Verma