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The world would be better if all girls went to school
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I am always dubious about so-called silver bullets. “Life can’t be that simple,” I think. “Surely there must be a catch?”
But there is one step that would improve countless lives — and make the world an infinitely better place — if only every government summoned the will to make it happen. Let me spell it out: make sure all girls go to school.
Today, the appalling truth is that worldwide about 61 million girls between the ages of five and 14 are deprived of an education. In countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan there are millions of girls who never get the chance to enter a classroom.
In some places, schools just do not exist; in others, prejudice, violence and poverty deny girls the education that is their right. Whatever the reason, this failure to allow every girl to attend school is holding back entire societies.
If political leaders would wake up to the benefits — and the essential justice — of educating the daughters of their countries just as surely as they educate their sons, then everyone would be immeasurably better off.
Do you want to boost economic growth? Or reduce population pressures? What about reducing infant mortality and improving child nutrition?
In every case the single most effective remedy is to give all girls the opportunity to attend school. That is not a matter of opinion: it is proven fact.
I will let the conclusions of a United Nations study speak for themselves.
If all women went to secondary school, says the UN report, then infant mortality would be cut in half and three million young lives saved every year. About 12 million children would not have their growth stunted by malnutrition.
The tragedy of child marriages would also become less common. The UN calculates that if every girl went to secondary school the prevalence of child marriage would fall by two-thirds.
And the pressures exerted by rising populations would be brought under control. Women in sub-Saharan Africa who never attend school give birth an average of 6.7 times. For those with secondary education, the figure plummets to 3.9.
The conclusion is crystal-clear: allowing girls into the classroom is both morally right in itself and a powerful spur to development and progress. It’s also the surest way of achieving the broader emancipation of women.
When girls are deprived of an education they become vulnerable and powerless — easy prey for those who would force them into work or early marriage.
Improved situation
Fortunately the situation is slowly improving in many countries, not least because of the great work being done by Priti Patel and the Department for International Development.
Last year I saw for myself how the department is helping six million girls to attend school in Punjab province in Pakistan.
And I visited Kabul University in Afghanistan, where I was fortunate enough to see Macbeth performed by a partly female cast. Across the world, the department provides the money and the programs to help girls into the classroom.
And we should have no illusions that plenty of other factors, quite apart from the denial of education, hold women back. One of my priorities as Foreign Secretary is to use every relevant platform to advance the cause of female education.
This month I will visit the UN in New York during the second week of the Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global gathering dedicated to fostering gender equality.
Later this year I will host a conference on the future of Somalia. I’ll take the opportunity to highlight how the lack of female education is holding back progress in that country.
I look forward to the day when every girl has the chance to go to school.
The author is British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.
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