The document discusses the barriers girls face to receiving an education globally. While progress has been made, millions of girls remain out of school, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South/West Asia. Cultural norms favoring boys' education, health issues like lack of facilities and female genital mutilation, early marriage, and safety concerns in the classroom are among the key barriers preventing girls from obtaining an education. Educating girls has significant social and economic benefits, including reduced fertility rates, lower child mortality, increased immunization of children, and greater female empowerment.

1. Educating girls
The global picture
Joan Garrod
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015

2. Educating girls
Though there has been progress in recent years, mainly due to the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), girls continue to suffer severe disadvantage and exclusion in education
systems in many countries.
•In sub-Saharan Africa, only 2 out of 35 countries have gender parity in education.
•South and west Asia have the largest gender gaps in out-of-school populations, with 80% of
out-of-school girls unlikely ever to start school, compared to 16% of out-of-school boys.
•In 2013, an estimated 31 million girls of primary school age and 12 million girls of early-
secondary school age were out of school.
•Two-thirds of the world’s 774 million illiterate people are female.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015

3. Educating girls
Percentage of poorest females aged 7–16 who have never been to school
Country %
Somalia 95
Niger 78
Liberia 77
Mali 75
Burkina Faso 71
Guinea 68
Pakistan 62
Yemen 58
Benin 55
Cote d’Ivoire 52
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
Source: United Nations Global Monitoring Report

4. Educating girls
Why are fewer girls than boys in education?
What are some of the barriers to girls’ education?
Working with a partner, take five minutes to see how many you can think of.
The next slide will give you some answers — you may have thought of other equally valid
ones.
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5. Barriers to girls’ education
These are some factors cited by UNICEF:
•Cultural norms that favour boys’ education when there are limited family resources.
•Inadequate sanitation facilities in schools, such as lack of private and separate toilets.
•Negative classroom environments where girls may face violence, exploitation or corporal
punishment, and a lack of female teachers.
•Household obligations, such as domestic work and caring for younger siblings.
•Health problems, such as female genital mutilation.
•Marriage — one-third of girls in the developing world are married before they are 18, and
one-third of women give birth before the age of 20.
•Discriminatory legislation and policies — in Afghanistan and Pakistan there have been formal
threats to close girls’ schools, and gender-motivated attacks on girls’ schools.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015

6. The importance of educating girls
As well as being a basic human right, education, particularly of females, is a key factor in
accelerating the demographic transition to lower birth and mortality rates, and thus to
economic development.
Women who are educated:
• are less likely to get married at an early age
• are more likely to have influence over their own lives
• are less likely to die in childbirth and tend to have fewer children
• reduce the overall level of child mortality
• are 50% more likely to have their children immunised and give their children better nutrition
• are less likely to be taken advantage of, and therefore less likely to contract HIV/AIDS
• are less likely to become victims of domestic violence
• are able to contribute to the family income
• are healthier and have greater self-confidence
• make a significant contribution to their community
• see the need to promote education for others
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7. Some effects of educating girls
In its 2013 global monitoring report, the United Nations ‘Education for all’
programme looked at some of the specific effects on societies of educating females.
These are shown in the following slides.
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8. Child brides
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Marriages to girls under 15 would fall by:
• 14% if all girls had primary education
• 64% if all girls had secondary education

9. Fertility rate
The average number of births to women in sub-Saharan Africa:
• With no education 6.7
• With primary education 5.8
• With secondary education 3.9
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10. Early births
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Early births are births to girls under 17.
In low-income countries, these would fall by:
• 10% if all girls had primary education
• 59% if all girls had secondary education

11. Stunted children
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‘Stunted’ children are children with below-average growth.
There are 47 million stunted children in low-income countries.
The percentage of stunted children in these countries would fall by:
•4% if all girls had primary education — 1.7 million fewer stunted
children
•26% if all girls had secondary education — 12.2 million fewer stunted
children

12. Educating girls
Sources:
United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative
UNICEF
OECD
The World Bank
The Right — campaign group working to increase access to equality and opportunity through
education
This resource is part of Sociology Review, a magazine written for A-level students by
subject experts. To subscribe to the full magazine go
to www.hoddereducation.co.uk/sociologyreview
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015