Sustainable education for girls

In November 2024, I was invited to give a special address at the Global Sustainable Education & Leadership Conference 2024 at the University of Greenwich, UK, focusing on sustainable education for girls.

After the conference, I was honored with the “Outstanding Leadership Icon Award” at the House of Lords in London in recognition of “her tireless efforts and impactful leadership in advocating for girls’ education and global gender equity”.

The speech emphasized the grassroots IAW project “Water and Pads for Schoolgirls”, highlighted global challenges faced by girls, and outlined strategies to promote sustainable education for equity and justice.

Key Issues:

1. Global Discrimination Against Girls: Girls face malnutrition, lack of education, child marriage, and violence. Over 96 million girls are illiterate, compared to 57 million boys, while 12 million girls marry annually. Educating girls reduces poverty, improves health, and fosters economic growth.
2. Sustainable Education: It ensures fairness by removing barriers, promoting gender-responsive curricula, and combating stereotypes, enabling girls to enter male-dominated fields like STEM.
3. Barriers: Cultural norms, economic constraints, child marriage, and lack of menstrual health resources hinder girls’ education.
4. Gender Gap in Literacy: Women comprise two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.
5. Engaging Boys and Men: Boys must be educated about gender equality to foster societal change.
6. IAW Grassroots Project: The “Water and Pads for Schoolgirls – Empowerment for Life!” project addresses menstrual health in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

I called for global financing, political action and the reduction of inequalities, and I appealed to the world to ensure that no girl is left behind, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda. My urgent message: “Leave no girl behind” was met with great applause.