Photo: Embassy of Afghanistan
The key to a prosperous future lies in the lives of generations of girls and ensuring they have equal rights and access, especially in regards to healthcare and education. Education is an essential element to achieve peace and international cooperation, and to ending poverty and conflict. The promotion of lifelong education for women and girls, not only fosters their personal development, but that of their families, communities, country’s and continues to the global scale.
Through education the negative gender-based norms and practices that are all to commonplace in many countries around the world, can gradually be replaced with the positive image of empowered and educated women and girls. Education combined with social, legal and other positive practices will give way to gender-equality. However if such steps are not taken and gender inequality continues to prevail in societies then the balance of power will continue to see women and girls teetering in an unbalanced world for the duration of their lives and generations to come.
Providing girls with an education is our most powerful weapon in the battle to wipe-out gender inequality. Education will not only increase their level of individual empowerment, but it is also the key for reducing poverty.
Girls who receive an education are more likely to marry later and therefore have smaller and healthier families as well as reduce their own health risks and child mortality rates. Through education girls are more aware of their rights, how they claim them for themselves and their families, and be more likely to assert them. Access to education not only empowers women to assert their rights, but opens the doors to economic opportunities for women and their families, as women begin to contribute to the families needs and ensure that their children have access to education and begin to break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty.
The high level for which education has been given in the development arena and impact that it has in reducing gender inequities is stressed by its inclusion in the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). The MDGs called for the elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015. However while progress has been made we are a long way from seeing that all children have fair and equal access to adequate education across the globe. Therefore education must truly be at the forefront of any relief, aid and community development programs both in regards to educating communities on the impact and harm of gender inequality and violence as well as in regards to access to adequate primary and secondary education for all.