IWD 2012: Commitment to Education

Photograph: Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Women's rights have certainly made head way since the early 1900's.  The world is undoubtedly a better place for women, but we must not be complacent.  We must recognize that women's rights are human rights and there lies a long road ahead of us to reach this recognition.  To this day, women everywhere are constantly subjected to violence and oppression, denied of basic rights, and are faced with a "barrage of difficulties" due to their sex. 

Less than 20% of world's parliamentarians are women

Less than 10% of countries have female head of state

Less than 3% signatories to peace agreements are women

This all comes down to one word, education.  Studies have shown that education plays a vital role in women empowerment and is the most effective way to fight global poverty and social injustice.  Educating women improves the rights of women in all areas of life.  Sure, gender equality seems a little far fetched, and requires shifting of attitudes, traditions, and practices, but this long-term commitment plan for education needs to happen if we want to see change and the betterment of the female population.     

Mothers who have been educated are more likely to give birth in health facilities

Girls with post-primary education are 5X more likely to be knowledgeable of HIV/AIDS

But, 30 million more girls than boys are out of school and are stripped of the opportunity

Today, we celebrate womanhood and those who have played a transformative role in paving the path that we have before us.  Happy International Women's Day from all of us here at The Borgen Project! 

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: The Guardian 

Horn of Africa Needs More Humanitarian Aid

UNICEF has released its "Humanitarian Action for Children 2012", which focuses on the importance of humanitarian aid within the Horn of Africa. The ongoing crisis in this region necessitates funding that focuses on the most vulnerable groups: women and children. UNICEF has requested the international community to give US $1.28 billion. Over half of this would go towards combating food scarcity in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes Louis-Georges Arsenault points out that this year the programme will focus on Somalia and the Dadaab in Eastern Kenya.

In addition to focusing on the Horn of Africa, the programme also details the needs of other regions. The funding statement discusses the flooding of Pakistan, the needs of children effected by violence in Cote d'Ivoire and South Sudan, and the efforts to rebuild Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. The UNICEF report also addresses the "silent" emergency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The funding programme highlights that as of 2011, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced because of violence in the Congo.

In this report, UNICEF stresses the need for flexible and immediate funding for the regions of Sahel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, and many more African nations. According to UNICEF, if the women and children of these nations are to survive, this emergency funding is critical.

-Akshika Patel


SOURCE:UNICEF

Global Demand for Secondary Education Spikes

With global demand for secondary education on the rise, governments in places like sub-saharan Africa are struggling to supply the high demands due to the unavailability of the necessary resources.  The need for secondary education is essential for the growth and development of these countries in areas concerning (but not limited to) environmental security, child and maternal health, and HIV prevention.  These are their formidable years, they shouldn't be deprived of the opportunity to learn and better their understanding of the world around them.  These children are very valuable resources worth utilizing.  

The importance also lies at the societal and economic level.  According to Albert Motivans, Head of Education Indicators and Data Analysis at the Montreal based Institute, " Secondary education helps support a more skilled workforce.  This can lead to poverty reduction and economic growth goals.  It helps to support a population which is healthier and which participates more actively in society.  And thus, secondary education also acts as a kind of a bridge at the society level, from one level of development to the next."  Providing higher education for these youths promises hope of a brighter future not only for themselves but also for their nations.   

Here are some statistics to think about:

• In sub-saharan Africa, only 36 percent of children are enrolled in secondary education, more than 21.6 million children get turned away, and many will never have been in school
• Globally, approx. 100 million more students each decade are accommodated - total number has grown 60 percent between (1990 and 2009)
• The ratio of enrollment amongst gender shows that there is a higher percentage of male acceptance, however, the percentage of female enrollment is increasing
• Girls are more likely than boys to complete lower secondary education in three quarters of countries with available data

"Secondary education is the next great challenge." 

-Hendrik van der Pol, Director of UNESCO's Institute for Statistics  

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: UN News