Females' access to education in the developing world

1. Females’ Access to Education:
Why girls in Africa and Asia are being prevented from going to
school
APWH Project
By Eeman Chowdhury
5/21/15

2. The Problem
• In the developing world today, 42% of girls are not
enrolled in school, particularly in Asia and Africa
• The root of the problem traces back to gender
discrimination in cultural norms and practices
throughout world history
• This needs to be addressed because educating
females is a proven way to increase development

3. History
• Ancient China & India:
Parents believed
males would
contribute more to
the family
Desire for sons led
to large-scale
female infanticide
Girls’ education
wasn’t considered
worthy of attention
Girls were taught
from a young age
what their role was
in society
They then grew up
uneducated and
confined to the
household

4. History
• Africa:
Africa fell behind in
development due to
mismanagement by
colonial powers
Poor families were
more likely to rely on
females for domestic
work
As colonialism
emerged, education
became more about
competing with other
countries, and
therefore costly
Parents were more
willing to invest in
boys, because they
relied on girls for
housework
Many generations of
females grew up
uneducated and
unable to earn an
income, contributing
to underdevelopment
in Africa

5. History: Other Regions
Middle East
• Women had many educational opportunities
in the medieval Islamic world
• They played an important role in the founding
of Islamic educational institutions
• Starting in the late 1900s, the region came
under strict laws due to political shifts
• This affected female progress, starting from
primary school
Europe
• Female education progressed as a result of
the Enlightenment
• Women gained access to higher institutions
• As more women graduated from universities,
they began being trained to teach girls in
primary school
• This put an emphasis on sending girls to
school
• Still varies across Europe

6. Current Issues
• General barriers in Asia and Africa that prevent girls from going
to school include
 Early and forced marriage
 Poverty
 Family care and domestic housework
 Early pregnancy
 Violence in schools
 The long distance to school
 The cost of education
 A lack of girls’ washrooms

7. Current Issues
• Africa:
 Transactional sex – the exchange of sex for money or gifts
 Leads to early pregnancies, taking girls out of school
“The first signs were . . . their low levels of
concentration in class. The next thing you see
the girl being sent away from school. Once
the girls get pregnant, that is the end of their
education.”
- Ugandan male student

8. Current Issues
• Early/forced marriage
 Parents often marry off their daughters early as way to “protect” or
secure their future, tracing back to historical attitudes of keeping
girls in the house
 1/3 of girls in Asia and Africa are married by age 18
 1/3 of women in developing world give birth before age 20
 This is in fact harmful because it keeps girls from seeking higher
education

9. Current Issues
• Violence in schools
 Many children, particularly girls, are subjected to violence and
exploitation from peers and teachers
 Prevalent in Africa

10. Agencies/Initiatives
• UNICEF
 Supports governments in the reduction of gender disparities through interventions at national, local
and community levels
 UNGEI
 Focal points
• East Asia and the Pacific
• Eastern and Southern Africa
• The Middle East and North Africa
• South Asia
• West and Central Africa
• Save the Children
 Helped more than 7 million girls through their education program last year
 Girls participating in their literacy program are up to 43% more likely to stay in school

11. The Solution
1) Address
cultural
attitudes (all
audiences)
2) Reform
education
facilities
(activists)
3) Government /
agency action

12. Works Cited
• CIA World Factbook. India. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.htm>
• "Education Levels: Nine Predominantly Islamic Countries." N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/6046/education-levels-nine-
predominantly-islamic-countries.aspx>.
• "Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa." N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.prb.org/Publications/Reports/2003/EmpoweringWomenDevelopingSocietyFemaleEducationintheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica.aspx>.
• "Girls' Education and Gender Equality." UNICEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.unicef.org/education/bege_70640.html>.
• "Girls Education in India : Achievements since Independence." — Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://ssa.nic.in/news/girls-education-in-india-
achievements-since-independence-press-release-wednesday-january-23-2008>.
• "Girls' Education." Room to Read. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
• "Girls Education." Save the Children. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6196511/k.846C/Girls_Education.htm>.
• Katie Mccracken, Elaine Unterhalter, Sergio Marquez, Agata Chelstowska. Empowering Women and Girls through Education (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 13 Apr.
2015.
• Lindsay, James E. (2005), Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 197
•
NetEase. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://gov.163.com/14/0917/16/A6BULAB100234KKR.html>.
• "Plan International." Plan International. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://plan-international.org/>.
• "Progress and Obstacles to Girls' Education in Africa." N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <https%3A%2F%2Fplan-
international.org%2Ffiles%2FAfrica%2Fprogress-and-obstacles-to-girls-education-in-africa>.
• "Report of the State of Education in Birmingham." Journal of the Statistical Society of London 3.1 (1840): 25-49. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
• State of World Population, 2005, 66. <http://unfpa.org/ webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2005/ swp05_eng.pdf>
• Tatlow, Didi Kirsten. "Women in China Face Rising University Entry Barriers." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/world/asia/08iht-educlede08.html?pagewanted=all>.
• "UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE." UNGEI. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ungei.org/>.
• William Lavely, Xiao Zhenyu, Li Bohua and Ronald Freedman (1990). The Rise in Female Education in China: National and Regional Patterns. The
China Quarterly, 121, pp 61-93.