Report by Empowerment and Human Resource Development of India, an affiliate of IAW.

MOBILITY

The National Education Policy of India released in 2019 rightly addresses some foundational issues in Indian education system regarding gender. The lessons from Indian experience can shed light in the challenges and required solutions for Educational attainment under 4th Sustainable development goal. The most important of them is Access. The report proposes various steps to increase access of women into schools. This includes creating special education zones, Gender inclusion funds, the targeted scholarships, and formula based and discretion funding of gender inclusionary projects in school levels. The report also addresses the problem of sexual harassment which women faces during the course of travel to schools and within schools. The report also suggests meals scheme in schools which will incentivize women of poor households to access schools.

HOWEVER, ONE THING IS MISSING: MOBILITY.

Trying to increase access without addressing mobility is like dancing without the help of limbs.

1. Mobility: The report makes a passing mention of the cycle distribution scheme of Bihar which increased the school attendance rates among girl children. Mobility of women free from harassment and safe from other disturbances is a key in attaining the access rates of women.

SUGGESTIONS :

• For this, public schools should have bus services which promote last mile connectivity for girl children. This will increase access on a large scale. The expenses in this regard should be seen as an investment and not as expenditure. Efficient service for last mile connectivity of women can have a drastic impact on the confidence of girls and their families towards school as safe learning spaces for girl children.
• There could be a last mile connectivity fund set up for each school with the joint allocation of Central government, state government, local governments and parent community.
• Creating women only buses in districts with high risk for girls to travel for education.

It would be ideal if the staff of the buses are also women.  (Recruitment of women drivers and needed training could be taken up with the partnership of various other government departments). 

DIGITAL INCLUSION AND TARGETED SERVICE DELIVERY 

It is necessary to promote digital access of women to promote greater mobility of ideas among women and mobility of greater opportunities among women.

Streamlining of digital content through apps, websites, softwares etc. targeted at women can also be adopted to provide women centric services to girl children. This should include

• Free Distribution of digital gadgets and internet infrastructure meant to increase access to the below said services.
• Free academic content, access to library databases, articles, government reports, studies etc.
• Schedules of bus timings to schools( Public transport and private transport etc can be included in it)
• Information regarding government schemes targeted at girl children and steps to easy application.
• Specific segments to increase awareness of anti sexual harassment laws with toll free numbers and other services which each girl children can access.
• Information regarding Internships, opportunities for gaining professional experiences, scholarships, student exchange programs etc.
• Information
• Presence of IT centers in schools for guiding the girl children to use these gadgets including its repair, maintenance, up gradation of the services. Further, the IT cells should be tasked with the job of helping girl children achieve greater digital skills through content and process exposures. Further, IT cells should aid the girl children with applications for scholarships, other applications etc.

ACCESS TO GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISMS AND COUNSELING:

It is no secret that girl children faces a number of problems while studying in schools. This include gender biases, discrimination, unfair treatment by parents and even teachers, maltreatment etc.

• There should be a toll free number for the child to report any complaints instantly and the same should be made available through the above mentioned digital mechanisms.
• Further, the toll free numbers should be operated by bodies which has expertise and expert professionals to guide the children through traumas and undesirable experiences.
• The professionals should be adept in laws against sexual harassments, various government policies meant to empower girls, close coordination with the regulatory bodies of the concerned State to direct immediate action towards the schools.
• The discussions between the child and the professional should be confidential
• The redressal mechanisms should be linked with the necessary Institutions under the Statutory bodies enabled with adequate legislation. For example, Juvenile Justice care and protection Act 2015.
• There should be counseling sessions regularly conducted both targeted as well as general for understanding the problems of the girl children.
• There should be storing of data gathered through the above mechanisms and the same should be utilized through the help of studies to local strategies for the schools.
• Conducting such educational research should be under the jurisdiction of a dedicated center for educational research which should be constituted and run under the concerned government bodies. Women should be adequately represented in this Centre, Adequate coordination with NGO’s working on the concerned locality, etc.
• Based on the findings, a report has to be forwarded to the concerned Department to make both general as well as specific interventions for the educational system in the concerned jurisdictions.
• Local strategies to be framed for each villages and if necessary for each schools.
• Sufficient linkages with the professionals, officials and institutions under JJ Act, POCSO, Women’s commission, Minorities Commission, ( Equivalent institutions in other countries)

GENDER EQUITY AS A MATTER OF CREATING ECONOMIC CAPACITY AND OWNERSHIP FOR GIRLS:

While the policy suggests that the books, curriculum, pedagogy and other aspects have to undergo a gender inclusive reformation, there is something which the report should equally focus on.

• Creating economic capacity and ownership for girls:

It is seen that the most effective strategy for empowering a group is to encourage ownership of that group in the social, political and economic resources. Increasing ownership is vital to give power in the hands of women and to create assertiveness among them of their rights. It is also conceivable that someone who acquires wealth ( here, we equate gender justice as a wealth in itself) will be more resilient in nourishing it and developing it.

Efforts of school system should equally be to train Girl children to create such social, political and economic wealth through their innate potential and leadership.

I propose in this paper of mine to call for creating better economic capacity and ownership among girl children by mentoring entrepreneurship.

Mentoring student level entrepreneur ship is a highly effective strategy in creating gender empowered advancements in learning spaces.

For this focus has to be on those entrepreneurships with

1. Intellectual capital
2. Green entrepreneurship and eco friendliness
3. Process based entrepreneurship: Heritage, indigenous, Art, Science and local knowledge processes which can be turned into resilient enterprises
4. Innovation based entrepreneurships:
5. Collective leadership
6. Cooperative profit sharing mechanisms

• This should be promoted with the help of activity and research based curriculum on entrepreneurship, District level incubation of girl children owned enterprises from each schools.
• Linking the incubation with diverse funding sources. Focus has to be given for micro credits on local levels.
• Incubation should also be promoted through toll free numbers that is to be disseminated to them through digital access gadgets
• Framing a detailed incubation guideline with the participation of Universities, Industry leaders etc.
• School infrastructure to be expanded for accommodating entrepreneurial spaces for girl children.
• General counseling in schools to be undertaken for finding young entrepreneurs.

It is my humble request that a detailed policy has to be drafted specifically for promoting school level entrepreneurships with the help of researchers, industry leaders and educationalist. A policy in this regard should also bring clarity on the implementing body and regulatory suggestions.

CREATING INVOLVEMENT IN POLICING, PUBLIC POLICY MAKING AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION:

There are very little areas of student engagement which inculcates gender equity in children in the likes of Policing, Public policy and Public administration.

The state of Kerala’s flagship program on Student police Cadets was an influential initiative in getting children involved in Police functions. By involving children in various community interaction initiatives of  the police and various issues of public policy and public administration, it becomes possible for children to be involved in how policy is framed, understood and implemented from an early age. Studies have indicated a decreased level of drug abuse in the schools where SPC were functioning. Creating peer focuses support groups was successfully done through the initiative.

This has to be expanded throughout India with great focus on Girl children.

• SPG’s can be instrumental in the way girl children interact with Police systems in the country. This is pivotal in increasing the safety of women in India by promoting greater participation of girl children in Police forces in the future
• There should be a SPG wing specifically for girls and the leadership position are to be reserved for girls. However, joint initiatives involving both boys and girls can be planned for SPG initiatives.
• SPG initiatives should take up wide community engagement initiatives with focus on crime reporting, traffic rules implementation, road safety, crime prevention, bridging the gap between police and common people, anti-drug abuse, counseling, anti- sexual harassment initiatives, etc
• The initiatives of SPG in Kerala can be taken up for studies.
• Center for educational research should also take up adequate research programs and suggest more equitable ways of student engagement in Police.

Public policy and Public Administration:

Similar to Student Police Cadets and the National service Scheme, There should be expansion of policy research and public administration to involve student involvement ( girl children). Just like SPG, a national body in this regard can be constituted to take up initiatives for child involvement in policy research and public administration.

A detailed policy in this regard has to be created with the help of educationists, Public administration officials and Academicians in the areas of Public policy and Public administration.

Various areas of Public policy and public administration (Information dissemination, policy appraisals, grassroot research,  legal analyses, surveys and polls, extraction of actionable leads etc)  has to be approached diligently and a detailed roadmap need to be made to see how children can be part of the process.

Further, each student ( girl children) needs to be mentored to develop their knowledge, insights and expertise in public policy and public administration to bring about greater awareness in children and empowerment.

CONCLUSION

It is only when we address the modern day challenges through a participative and value addition model of Education invested in creating meaningful social infrastructure for women can empowerment evolve from foundational sources.

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The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) and its partners organized with the High Patronage of the President of the Republic of Chad, His Excellency Mr Idriss BEBY ITNO, an international conference on the theme “Education of girls and Training of women in the French-speaking space to ensure inclusion and gender equality in education through education.

The conference took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad from June 18 to 19, 2019.

The International Alliance of Women (IAW) was part of the event through two members :

– Anne Pélagie YOTCHOU from Cameroon

– and Rakia KABIA DIAKITE from Chad

The opening ceremony of the conference on 18 June 2019 at 11 am (GMT + 1) had a rich panel with His Excellency Mr. Idriss DEBY ITNO, President of the Republic of Chad, accompanied by his wife, the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Mrs. Louise MUSHIKIWABO and the Prime Minister of Rwanda.

The N’Djamena conference reminded us that inequality in education is a reality in all aspects of the educational process (access, retention, completion, collection and processing of data, learning outcomes, educational and vocational choices, …) and lifelong learning, disproportionately affecting girls and women, especially those in vulnerable situations. During the two (02) days, both in the plenary sessions and during the various workshops, we explored the root causes of inequalities, disparities and various forms of exclusion and discrimination affecting girls and women.

The conference was divided into several segments, namely:

• A ministerial component where we had ministers from different countries in charge of issues related to education, training, women’s empowerment and socio-economic development of women and girls, who shared the experiences of their countries and all the good practices for girls’ education, women’s training, inclusion and gender equality; the issue of revising policies for girls’ education and training for women has been pointed during the conference;

• Thematic round tables:

– The one on the review of the progress and challenges of girls’ education and the training of women gave opportunity  to interventions on the general state of affairs concerning the issues and policies of education which must be in the most cases are re-evaluated and redefined based on current requirements to keep girls in school. During this workshop there were also cross-talks on progress and challenges. Panelists and participants shared experiences and it was agreed that governments should review their education system and take into account the specific needs of girls.

– The roundtable on strengthening education systems to build gender-sensitive and multi- actors’ policies has given rise to debates on the need for greater gender mainstreaming in education management and information systems.

– The last roundtable on civil society was an opportunity to rethink civil society’s role which is very important in improving girls’ education and training of women. This activity was very interactive, a meeting of experiences sharing on initiatives for the education of girls and it was also an opportunity for the International Alliance of Women  to share its experience with the project “water and Pads” to keep girls in schools; the project was very well applauded and we received about 80% of the participants at our information booth who came to have more details about the project and to take inspiration from our project to go to their countries to implement a similar project.

• Workshops

The workshops were also moments of the given and receiving in terms of good practices to strengthen the education of girls and women in the French-speaking world.

At the end of the two (02) days of conference, recommendations have been developed and it is clear that the issue of girls’ education and training of women must be addressed by the various states with a multi-actors approach and gender equality to implement more effective actions for keeping girls in school and to train women; civil society organizations were also called to continue to mobilize and get involved on the field to support and reassure that adequate policies are putting in place to make girls’ education and training of women a priority in their various countries. This meeting of giving and receiving enabled the participants also to establish and develop new specific networks on girls’ education in French-speaking Africa with a focus on those living in rural areas. The “Water Pads” project was noted as a good practice to expand in other countries; project flyers, printed in Cameroon, were distributed to participants and officials during the conference with the hope that the project will gain the attention for a positive return in terms of funding to help us get funds to extend and strengthen the activities of the project in various countries identified in Africa.

The N’Djamena Conference ended on June 19, 2019 with a Gala Dinner hosted by la Francophonie and the Government of Chad.

Done at Yaoundé on June 26, 2019

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Girls’ chances to thrive and transform their lives are often reduced at an early age due to the lack of health education, particularly menstrual health management. According to UNICEF¹, UNESCO² and WHO³ about one in 10 girls in Africa, Asia and South America skips school during menstruation and often finally drops out due to an unhealthy environment where no sanitary pads or proper toilets are available. Menstruation is often one of the strongest taboos.
Therefore IAW in 2017 launched the project  “Water and Pads for School-Girls – Empowerment for Life” ⁴ . The project is carried out by seven IAW member organizations in low-income countries.
It addresses several goals of the UN Sustainable Development agenda 2030. Contacts with selected schools were established in poor rural areas in Cameroon, DR Congo, Pakistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The teachers most of all pleaded for age-adapted teaching-tools on sexual health.
An IAW team then organized or edited booklets in English and French appropriate for primary and secondary schools. The pilot-project conducted at a rural school in Cameroon in February 2019 was very successful. It had a wide media coverage. Many parents of the school-girls were thankful for the breaking up of this taboo. The girls and boys got an increased awareness of mutual responsibilities when growing up.

IAW strongly supports all WHO efforts to disseminate educational tools about sexual and reproductive health, such as booklets written in regional languages.

We appeal to all governments to endorse efforts to provide a good menstrual health management for girls worldwide, thus enabling them to attend school without discrimination.

1 UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/wash/schools/files/MHM_vConf_2014.pdf    

2 UNESCO http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002267/226792e.pdf

3 WHO https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12978-017-0293-6

4 IAW Water and Pads Project:  https://iawwaterandpads.jimdofree.com/

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Promoting Gender Equality through Quality Public Education Systems and Services

Yet, only 44% of member states have fully committed to gender equality in education according to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 2018. Member states have both the obligation to close gender inequalities in education and use education as a tool to foster a gender-equal world.

Increased efforts are needed to tackle the systemic barriers in accessing education for women and girls based on the intersection of gender, race, income and location as well as to ensure safe and non-discriminatory learning environments.

Addressing Systemic Barriers for Marginalized Women and Girls
Women and girls in developing countries are more likely to never go to school. In fact, 16 million girls worldwide will not attend school. Globally, harmful traditional practices, child marriage and gender stereotypes prevent women and girls from accessing education. Living in poverty and the lack of school services in close proximity to their homes can also deter women and girls from securing education at all levels. In the Global North, Indigenous women and girls also face systemic barriers to accessing education and a lack of school services in close proximity to their communities.

Early Childhood Education and Care
Only one in two children globally are enrolled in early childhood education and care. Unlike primary and secondary school, early childhood education and care is still predominantly seen as a private responsibility rather than a state responsibility.  This is despite being highlighted as a human rights issue in human rights conventions and agreements such as the Convention on the right of the child. In Canada, early learning and child care services remain unavailable and inaccessible for many families due to high fees, limited licensed spaces and a market-based approach to service provision.

Publicly funded high quality, accessible and affordable early learning and child care can have a transformative impact on children, women and the economy. Early learning and child care is proven to guarantee better developmental outcomes namely by improving school readiness and social integration. Moreover, it can shift the weight of unpaid care work that is traditionally put on women and support gender equality by enabling women to pursue education and skills training as well as securing formal jobs, full time work, and building businesses. Financial institutions such as the IMF and the OECD have also highlighted its cost effectiveness and its high positive impact on economic growth.

Women and Girls Living in Poverty
Women and girls living in low-income families are more likely not to enter school or to drop out of school. This can be explained by the inability to afford fees related to schooling such as textbooks and transportation, and a gender bias favouring boys’ education in some countries. Social expectations for girls to perform care and domestic tasks disproportionately affect girls and women in low-income families.

Securing access to education for girls cannot be isolated from ensuring access to other services and essential infrastructure such as drinking water and sanitation, health and reproductive health services, and safe and adequate housing.

Privatization
The High Commissioner for Human Rights highlights that an increased privatization of school has negative impacts on accessible and free quality education as it can generate disinvestment in public education. This has a direct impact for girls and women’s education. Discriminatory admission requirements as well as the potential lack of compliance with the national curriculum in the private sector are also deterrents to girls’ participation in school.

Women and Girls in Rural and Remote Settings
A majority of women and girls who cannot read come from rural and remote settings. Women represent two thirds of adults who are unable to read or write, a statistic that has not changed in 15 years. Technology can play a key role in providing education and skills training for individuals in rural and remote settings. A focus should also be given to improvement of infrastructure in rural areas with gender-sensitive facilities such as clean and safe sanitary facilities along with safe transportation and culturally sensitive education.

Literacy, Vocational and Skills Training
Vocational and skills training needs to be relevant and to adapt to the changing labour market context. Most adults in middle and low income countries still struggle with basic information and telecommunication technologies (ICT) according to the International Telecommunications Union. Women need to access ICT as well as digital literacy training in order to facilitate their integration into the labour market, to empower them and strengthen their social and financial independence and leadership potential through access to information.

Ensuring Safe and High Quality Learning Environments

Ending Violence in Schools and on Campuses
Gender-based violence is prevalent in many schools and campuses around the world with an estimated 246 million children experiencing school-related violence every year. It has severe impact on women and girls’ well-being, rights and ability to complete an education. Prevention of and response to sexual violence at all levels of education is crucial.

National standards and legislation accompanied by strong transparent monitoring mechanisms are needed to address sexual violence in schools and on campuses.

An inclusive and comprehensive health and sexuality education in primary and secondary school, where concepts such as consent and bystander intervention are taught, can contribute to preventing gender-based violence. Also key to tackling the issue is the training for teachers, staff and students on reporting mechanisms and on the root causes of gender-based violence.

High Quality Unbiased Education
Educational content should be free from gender bias and stereotypes, promote equal relationships and provide gender-responsive instruction. However, many textbooks still reinforce stereotypes, namely by representing women only in specific roles. A teacher’s own gender bias can also contribute to gender inequality in the classroom. In its report on the Realization of the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl, the High Commissioner for Human Rights points to the State’s responsibility to ensure that textbooks, curricula and programmes promote gender equality and dismantle harmful stereotypes. Training for teachers and staff in the use of evidence-based teaching and learning strategies to provide education that promotes gender equality and human rights is of significant importance.

We urge member states to:
– Commit to gender equality in education by adopting laws, policies and action plans, strong and transparent monitoring and accountability mechanisms as well as investment in capacity building to identify best practices.

– Ensure access at all levels to quality public education systems, and infrastructure that are gender-sensitive, including primary, secondary, and tertiary education, as well as publicly funded accessible, affordable, inclusive and quality early learning and child care.

– Provide funding to cover indirect costs of education for marginalized populations such as women and girls in poverty as well as strategies and services for such community development as safe drinking water, safe housing and health and reproductive health services.

– Improve access to ICT especially for girls living in rural and remote communities and invest in lifelong learning training that includes ICT skills and digital literacy.

– Ensure that textbooks, curricula, programmes and teaching methods promote gender equality and dismantle harmful stereotypes based on gender, race and religion.

– Provide training for teachers and staff on gender biases and evidence-based gender sensitive curricula that is culturally sensitive and promote human rights and gender equality as well as training on the root causes of gender-based violence and reporting processes.

– Increase and target development assistance investments to support gender equality in education.

In conclusion, education and gender equality are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Efforts to ensure SDG4 inclusive and equitable quality education need to fully integrate the commitments to SDG5 to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) is a non-partisan, voluntary, self-funded organization with over 100 clubs, and close to 8400 members located in every province across Canada. Since its founding in 1919, CFUW has been working to improve the status of women, and to promote human rights, public education, social justice, and peace.

Statement endorsed by:

• Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women
• Graduate Women International
• International Alliance of Women
• National Council of Women of Canada
• YWCA Canada

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Introduction

The aim of this essay is to give an overview on the current situation of gender equality in education and the ways to improve gender disparities in the field of education at the international and national level. The focus of this essay is on international and national mechanisms to hold governments to account, civil society activism and credible education plans.

1. The current situation

UNICEF has stated that education offers children a way out of poverty and a path to a promising future. However, approximately 264 million children and adolescents around the world do not have the opportunity to enter or complete school. They are hindered by poverty, discrimination, armed conflict, emergencies.

According to UNESCO, there are 63 million children of primary school age (from six to eleven years old) who are out of school. Of these children 34 million are girls. In 2000, 58 % of the 100 million out-of-school children were girls. By 2016 this percentage had fallen to 54 % which meant that 10 % of girls of primary school age were out of school in comparison to 8 % of boys. However, this global average does not show the differences at regional and country levels.

Girls at primary school face a disadvantage in most regions, except in Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Northern America where boys are more likely to be out of school. In Europe and in Northern America in 2016 the out-of-school rate of boys was 4,1 % (1,4 million) whereas girls’ rate was 3,4% (1,1 million). In Latin America and in the Caribbean in 2016 the out-of-school rate of boys was 5,5% (1,7 million) whereas the girls’ rate was 4,4% (1,3 million). In Asia, girls face more disadvantages attending school. For example, in Southern Asia in 2016 6,4% (5,6 million) of girls were out of school compared to boys whose out-of-school rate was 4,9% (4,7 million). Sub-Saharan Africa is the region which has the largest gender disparities. There girls account for 56% of out-of-school children and 53% of all out-of-school youth.

In Northern Africa and Western Asia, 12 % of girls do not attend school, compared to 10% of boys. In the following nine countries the female primary out-of-school rate is at least 10% higher than the male rate: Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan and Yemen. Furthermore, more than one-half of girls of primary school age do not attend school in Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and South Sudan.

At the global level, the out-of-school rates between women and men are almost identical. However, this average does not take into account differences between regions. For example, in Northern Africa and Western Asia 16% of adolescent girls remain excluded from education compared to 11% of boys. Whereas, in sub-Saharan Africa, the female rate for exclusion is 39% compared to 35% for males. In Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern Asia and Europe and Northern America adolescent boys are the ones who face disadvantages in attending school. In Europe and in Northern America in 2016 the out-of-school rate of boys (lower secondary school age) was 2,4 % (0,5 million) compared to girls’ rate of 1,9% (0,4 million). In Latin America and in the Caribbean the out-of-school rate of boys was 7,9% (1,5 million) whereas the out-of-school rate of girls was 7,2% (1,3 million). Furthermore, in Southern Asia the out-of-school rate of boys was 18,3% (10,2 million) and the out-of-school rate of girls was 15,9% (8 million). Also in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia the out-of-school rate of boys was higher 9,3% (4,4 million) than the one of girls 8,6% (3,6 million). Oceania is closest to gender parity in the age group of lower secondary school.

2. Political and legal background

The international community has committed to achieving gender equality since the establishment of the United Nations. Chapter I of the UN charter notes as one of the organization’s purposes the aim to achieve international cooperation through ‘promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion’ (United Nations, 1945). Since the formulation of the UN charter, countries have been increasing their political and legal commitment to gender equality in education.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development obliges countries to take gender equality into account throughout all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From all the SDGs the SDG 4 on Quality education and the SDG 5 on Gender equality emphasise gender equality in education. The SDG 4 demands inclusive, equitable education of good quality whereas the SDG 5 aims at achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls. The aims of the SDG 5 include the elimination of all forms of discrimination, gender-based violence and child marriage, increasing participation of women at all levels of decision-making, and providing universal access to sexual and reproductive health services.

The Education 2030 Framework for Action, which is the international community’s guideline to achieve the SDG 4, states that gender equality is essential if the right to education is to be extended to all. According to the Framework, governments must promote gender-sensitive policies, plans and learning environments. This involves eliminating gender-based discrimination and violence and providing teacher education and support in offering gender-equitable education. However, it is important to remember that the 2030 Agenda is not legally binding.

States’ legal obligations on education derive from legally binding international treaties that outlines governments’ responsibilities to respect, protect and fulfil the right to education. States must abstain from violating the right to education. The protection of the right to education indicates that states must ensure that third parties do not prevent equal access to and enjoyment of education. In addition, the fulfilment of the right to education obliges that states must adopt legislative, administrative, budgetary, judicial and other measures towards the full realization of the right. All countries have ratified at least one treaty which protects the right to education is protected.

Three global treaties are especially important to gender equality in education. First of them is the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This treaty is considered as the most specific and substantive treaty concerning the legal obligations of states towards gender equality in education. Article 10 of CEDAW outlines state obligations and establishes acceptable norms, such as equality in access to and quality of education, the reduction of female dropout rates, programmes for women and girls who have left school prematurely, and access to educational information on health and family planning whereas Article 16 bans child marriage. However, although 189 states have ratified CEDAW, many countries have made reservations to it. This undermines their commitment to the treaty.

Secondly, the Convention against Discrimination in Education (CADE) is the only treaty specialised in the field of education. It is also considered as the most comprehensive treaty concerning discrimination in education. CADE prohibits all forms of discrimination, including gender. In addition, it focuses on discrimination both in access to and quality of education.

Thirdly, Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) are often recognised as the foundation of the legal right to education. The treaty’s monitoring committee has outlined state practices that are necessary in bringing change to eliminate discrimination, all of which demand close monitoring and disaggregated data to identify patterns of discrimination as stated in Article 13.

3. How gender equality can be achieved in the field of education?

Even though states formally accept the responsibility to guarantee the right to gender equality in education, discriminatory practices based on gender still exist. NGOs and citizens can use both international and national and civil society channels to have their voices heard and hold governments to account. International and national channels are associated with human rights treaty bodies, parliaments and independent institutions whereas civil society channels involve civil society groups including those that address women’s rights issues.

3.1 International mechanisms to hold governments to account

Governments can be held accountable in a couple of ways when it comes to the treaties. First, authorized parties may be able to bring complaints directly to the committee monitoring the treaty. Secondly, the treaty usually demands countries to report progress on meeting treaty commitments to the committee. Thirdly, third parties might be asked to inform further the committee during a country review process.

The principal way to hold governments accountable for their commitments on the right to education is through the submission of complaints, communications, petitions or claims by anyone who feels that their human rights have been violated by the state. The committees observing CEDAW, ICESCR and CADE all have mechanisms to submit complaints.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors the implementation of CEDAW. This means that the Committee is the most likely UN treaty body to receive a complaint on gender inequality in education. Even though UN treaty bodies have dealt with a small number of complaints or communications on the right to education, no UN treaty body has yet adjudicated on a specific case of gender discrimination in education. However, the Committee of CEDAW has adopted decisions that affect gender equality in education.

Countries must report periodically on measures they have taken to meet their obligations. During the last reporting for CADE, completed in 2013, 40 out of 59 countries reported important policy changes. For example, in Bahrain, nursery schools were opened in continuing education centres to provide a space for childcare while parents continue their education. Whereas, in Bangladesh the Female Stipend Programme was expanded to upper secondary, allowing the 3.9 million students receiving the stipend to extend their education.

Furthermore, non-government organisations (NGOs) are given the opportunity to submit information on violations of rights committed by states during country reviews. Reports from NGOs are known as shadow or parallel reports and they take local voices into the international arena.

All in all, the multiple ways offered by international treaties are underutilized measures for holding countries accountable for gender equality in education. Although lack of an enforcement authority may limit the degree of national reporting on treaty goals, normative pressure to meet commitments has driven progress in some countries. Thus, individual citizens and civil society organizations could use more often these measures to highlight issues of discrimination and segregation because committee recommendations together with public scrutiny can prompt government action. 

3.2 National mechanisms to hold governments to account

Independent institutions present other routes for citizens to contribute complaints. National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), including ombudsman offices, are assigned to report on complaints involving government human rights violations and to recommend corrective action. In 2010, 118 countries had ombudsman offices.  For example, in Finland, the Ombudsman for Equality supervises compliance with the Act on Equality between Women and Men. The office of the Finnish Ombudsman studies inquiries and complaints on gender issues in employment, education, housing, social protection and healthcare, and goods and services. Furthermore, gender audits by independent audit institutions can also add pressure on governments.

3.3 Civil society activism

Accountability systems, including civil society movements, provide an avenue for citizens to make complaints. Women activist groups have had a huge role in many countries in holding governments into account for their commitments.

Campaigns for women’s rights are often organized by NGOs, sometimes together with governments and local authorities. For example, in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan the support of local and religious leaders helped to change their communities’ attitudes towards girls’ right to education.

Progress can also be accelerated by gender-focused international NGOs. A few examples of these NGOs and their campaigns are the Campaign for Female Education, the MenEngage Alliance and Women Deliver. In addition to this, the #HeForShe campaign launched by UN Women in 2014 focuses on engaging men to become change agents and help achieve gender equality also in the field of education. This campaign has also developed programmes to address gender-based violence at universities.

Social media is more and more used to draw attention to gender issues, hold governments and other stakeholders to account and give a voice to civil society. Hashtag activism can also help convey local concerns into global consciousness. For example, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign drew global attention to the kidnapping of over 250 secondary school girls in Borno State, Nigeria, in 2014.

3.4 Credible education plans

Governments have political and legal obligations to plan and implement education policy, within their resource limitations. Governments are liable both for protecting the right to gender equality in education and for providing gender equitable education services. There is no single way on how governments can ensure gender equality in education. It is also important to remember that governments are not uniform actors; they are composed of many sectors, departments, levels and authorities with variable levels of capacity. Furthermore, fragile, post-conflict and post-reconstruction states are usually in a weaker position in enacting and enforcing policies.

In holding governments accountable for their promises on gender equality in education, a key tool is credible education plans. These credible education plans should identify clear lines of responsibility, be properly funded and have a transparent budget. Education plans promote coordination across government bodies and can gather different ministries to tackle the wide-ranging challenges that often restrict girls’ education. The involvement of different stakeholders can help in assuring that plans include and adequately fund strategies and policies that advance gender equality.

However, the existence of an education plan that meets certain criteria is by no means a guarantee of success.  For example, Afghanistan has a gender-sensitive plan. This plan recognizes the importance of female teachers in facilitating girls’ enrolment as
well as the difficulty of recruiting them. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education has introduced inducements to attract more female teachers, especially in rural areas. Unfortunately, the strategy has made little difference: 1/5 of all districts do not have a single female teacher.

According to the Global Education Monitoring Report 2018, every stage of an education plan should be considered through a gender lens. Firstly, a gender assessment should measure the potential gender implications of the policy. Secondly, gender budgeting should make sure that resources are properly targeted and equitably distributed. Thirdly, different stakeholders should be included in the examination of the plan or policy in relation to the original intention and identifying any explicit or hidden prejudice or discrimination. Finally, a report on policy implementation and results, including gender analysis and segregated data, should be prepared and published to a wider public.

This paper has been researched and drafted by Vilja Härkönen, intern at the Secretariat of IAW in Athens, under the supervision of Joanna Manganara, President of IAW.

The post President’s Newsletter: Education and Gender Equality – December 2018 appeared first on International Alliance of Women.

Published in 2017

In order to find out the needs for a “water and pads” project, a questionnaire has been sent out to all IAW member organisations in Asia and Africa. The responses have been excellent and for most parts very detailed, confirming the necessity for such a project.

It is clear that countries in the sub Saharan region have been keenly aware of local challenges for quite some time and they are pointing to some shared challenges. Generally, responses from African members highlight part of the problem as practical challenges such as a lack of clean water and toilet facilities in schools, as well as a basic lack of access to sanitary pads.

In addition, members have included other challenges such as stigma and misunderstandings surrounding menstruation. This especially in rural areas where basic hygiene and healthcare education are often lacking, both in schools but also within the local population.

Due to the difficulty for girls to access private and sanitary bathroom facilities in school during their period, and because of local beliefs and misconceptions surrounding menstruation, it is clear that far too many girls are being kept out of school for several days a month. A problem that is in indeed an equality issue.

The detailed answers IAW members provided in response to the questionnaire not only confirm a need for a project like “water and pads for schoolgirls” but also stress the importance to adapt it to different local contexts.

Given the high rate of response and the detailed quality of feedback, the interest and need for the “water and pads” project are very clear. However, the needs expressed vary in different parts of the world. It is therefore important to develop the project in a way, which makes it adaptable and suitable for local needs.

A number of IAW members are more than ready to get started. Even before receiving the questionnaire, they scrutinized both the problems and solutions in their own country. Some have already created contacts with local stakeholders.

It is indeed the strength of the IAW to have a strong connection to grass root organisations. The ability to provide knowledge of cultural settings and local needs makes it possible to further develop the “water and pads” project, so that it can be adapted and modified to fit different local contexts.

The next steps for the project will be to take the answers of the questionnaire into account in developing the project and, most important, to find adequate funding.

It is clear that IAW members are anxiously awaiting the project.

French version

Afin de déterminer les besoins d’un projet ” eau and tampons” un questionnaire a été envoyé à toutes les organisations membres de l’AIF en Asie et en Afrique. Les réponses fournies ont été excellentes et pour une large partie très détaillés. Elles ont confirmé la nécessité d’un tel projet.

Il n’y a pas de doute que les pays de la région Subsaharienne ont été visiblement conscients des défis sur le plan local durant un bon moment et soulignent que certains sont les mêmes dans toute la région.  Généralement, les réponses des membres africains mettent en relief que certains aspects du problème sont d’ordre pratique comme l’absence d’eau propre et l’accès aux toilettes dans les écoles, ainsi que l’accès aux tampons.

A cela les membres ajoutent d’autres défis comme la stigmatisation et les malentendus concernant la menstruation des filles. Ceci touche principalement les zones rurales où l’hygiène de base et la formation sanitaire ne sont pas à la hauteur ni dans les écoles, ni parmi la population locale.

A cause de la difficulté des jeunes filles à avoir accès aux toilettes privées et propres à l’école et  des opinions et préjugés de la population locale en ce qui concerne la menstruation, un nombre inacceptable de jeunes filles est privé de l’enseignement scolaire pendant plusieurs jours par mois. Un problème qui relève d’une inégalité sexuelle et une discrimination à l’égard des filles.

La réponse détaillée qui a été fournie par les membres de l’AIF au questionnaire ne confirme pas seulement le besoin d’un projet  “eau et tampons” pour les écolières, mais souligne la nécessité de l’adapter aux différents contextes locaux. Etant donné le taux élevé de réponses et la qualité détaillée des réactions, l’intérêt et le besoin pour le projet semble claire. Cependant les besoins exprimés varient selon les différentes régions du monde. Pour cette raison, il est important de développer le projet dans une direction qui prenne en compte les besoins locaux.

Un nombre de membres de IAW expriment une réelle volonté d’entamer le projet. Avant même de recevoir le questionnaire, ils se sont penchés sur les problèmes et solutions dans leur propre pays. Certains ont déjà noué contact avec les parties prenantes.

De fait l’une des forces de l’AIF réside dans ses liens forts avec les organisations de base. La capacité de transmettre du savoir concernant les critères culturels et les besoins locaux permet de développer d’avantage le projet “eau et tampons” afin qu’il puisse être adapté et modifié pour garantir sa compatibilité avec les différents contextes locaux.

Les prochaines démarches à faire dans le cadre du projet consistent à prendre en compte les réponses du questionnaire afin de développer le projet, et en premier lieu de trouver les fonds adéquats. Il est clair que certains membres de l’AIF attendent anxieusement son début.

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This event went on for 4 hours. It saw 10 different high schools coming together including Harare Junior Parliamentarians. On the lineup was a debate on gender equality followed by a drama on gender based inequality at the workplace. Poetry, songs and dance. The floor was then opened to allow student participation on gender equality issues. Harare Junior Mayor Elton Phiri gave his speech on the launch of the Million Pad Campaign that was launched to aid in the plight of girls both in the rural and urban areas of Zimbabwe who are not able to afford sanitary wear during their monthly circle.

“The whole aim of reaching the targeted million pads was for sustainability purposes“, Elton emphasized. He also added that they had already reached the target and this was due to the massive support he had received from local businessmen, businesswomen and Pastor. It was amazing to see that most of the donations came from men and in a society that portrays a woman as unclean during her cycle, and where talking about it in public has been a taboo.

But here it was men at forefront talking about it and making contributions to help out in all and every way possible. My call to action goes out to all women in the words of Hillary Clinton ‘there’s never been a more important woman than the one who stands up, not just for herself but for everyone else.

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