07.19.07
Why educate Girls? – 2 –
“There can be no significant or sustainable transformations in societies – and no significant or lasting reduction in global poverty – until girls receive the quality basic education they need and that is their fundamental right.” -Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director
As a foundation for human development, education enables individuals to make genuine choices about the kind of lives they wish to lead. Ultimately, education opens an infinite number of doors that might otherwise remain shut. But for millions of youngsters – most of them girls – this human right is denied.
Girls’ education may be the single most effective weapon in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. It slows and reduces the spread of the disease by contributing to female economic independence, delayed marriage, and an understanding of the disease and how to prevent it.
Quality education keeps children in school and makes them less vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Education can impart an early understanding of social justice and peace and of the fragile environment in which we live.
Countries with higher primary enrolment and smaller schooling gaps between boys and girls are usually more democratic. And investments in girls’ education – particularly those directed to the quality of education – also benefit boys. The reverse is not always the case.
