No place for gender disparity in education

Each year, the United Nations announces a different theme for International Women’s Day. This year’s celebrations revolve around the  theme ‘Empower rural women: end hunger and poverty’.

In the past, UN themes have focused on a world free of violence against women, investing in the development of women and girls, and gender equality. Last year, the theme called on the world to provide ‘equal access to education, training and science and technology’.

But I do wish the UN would focus on the apparently simple, yet not-so-easy objective of doing away with gender disparity in education. That would be a true celebration of womanhood — to have the right to quality, universal education. If only we could celebrate no other theme but that every year, and rest assured because we know that the rest of the objectives will  follow almost automatically.

Millennium goal

Global education must be our most compelling need if we are to address the issue of poverty — part of this year’s Women’s Day theme. The Millennium Development Goals set in 2000, right after the millennium summit, also called for the elimination of this disparity in education. In fact, the hope was to achieve a portion of this goal (‘to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education’) by 2005.

While that aim was not realised in time, a second deadline looms. In 2015, gender disparity in education must end at all levels. It is ambitious, to say the least, for us to focus on the realisation of other dreams for women, while half (or more) of a country’s population remains deprived of quality education — a right established in international law.

Without education, girls will continue to face hunger, poverty, disease and exploitation — evils that we all aspire to see an end to. Not just that, if these young girls do survive to eventually become mothers, the next generation will inherit little more than a legacy of illiteracy, poverty and perhaps even disease.

Gradual change

Illiterate mothers cannot possibly be expected to have knowledge of how to protect themselves or their children from the havoc caused by malaria, HIV/Aids, or even diarrhoea, prevalent in many poor nations.

It is not all as sad as it looks, for there are success stories too. Decision-makers are able to see the benefits that can be reaped if only girls have access to education. Both governments and non-governmental organisations working in the developing world are striving to develop ways of promoting primary education, volunteering academic support and in some countries, even providing life skills training.

While South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are said to have the worst rates of female illiteracy, I met Masai girls in Kenya last year who were both confident and ambitious. They were keen to gain access to information and opportunities — and spoke impeccable English.

For a tribe that prides itself on maintaining all its traditions, right from the mud houses where they live, to the bright red sheets and colourful jewellery that they adorn, those girls were definitely a success story. But it is also true that we still have a long way to go. The barriers to education faced by girls in the developing world must be eliminated. There has to be a clear focus on ensuring that their voices will be heard, and their needs met, before we can convince ourselves that education is indeed universal.

Poverty is a major cause of gender disparity in education — where poor families are forced to make a choice between educating their sons or daughters, the girls will inevitably be left out. But honestly speaking, even in countries where primary education is free, and books, stationary or lunches are offered as incentives, old-fashioned traditions and cultural bias refuse to allow girls to avail one of their most basic rights.

For an illiterate mother, with more children than she can take care of on her own, it is best to keep the girls are home, so they can help cook, clean and care for the younger ones. And early marriages, especially when they come with the added incentive of ‘bride price’, only aggravate the dire circumstances for a girl seeking to get educated. Parents look forward to having one less mouth to feed, along with some extra money coming their way.

Most countries where gender disparities in terms of education prevail, are unsafe, violence-prone areas of conflict. When parents are not assured that their girls will be safe going to school, especially if they must travel long distances on unsafe routes, they prefer to keep them at home. And they can hardly be blamed for doing so.

The infrastructure of many schools lacks in such basic amenities as the provision of safe water and sanitation. All that is needed is the addition of a simple toilet to the existing structure, to ensure the attendance of girls.

Also, tradition demands that girls be taught by female educators, sparse in those very places where such a requirement exists. Parents, worried by stories of sexual harassment and violence in schools at the hands of those responsible for running the school, keep their girls at home rather than face the risk of victimisation.

Come March every year, and we can come up with all the themes we want. But women empowerment will remain as elusive as ever unless we further enhance our approach towards the issue. Sticking to simple economics will get us nowhere, unless we focus on a more gender-sensitive, culturally viable solution that allows for universal education without gender disparity.
 

Rabia Alavi is a Dubai-based writer. You can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RabiaAlavi