an article on girl child education

Girls in their 6th grade class taught by Fatuma Samatar in Borama, Somaliland. Fatuma specializes in Math and Physics, but currently teaches Geography and Islamic Studies in 5th and 6th grades because of the shortage of teachers in these subjects.

Girl's Education

Every girl deserves an education.

A girl is not a statistic or a piece of property. She's a child who deserves a future. 

Girls the world over face gender discrimination – just for being born a daughter and not a son. A girls education is less likely to be valued, and she’s more likely to be forced into early marriage, face violence or be stolen by traffickers. Her childhood cut short – her very life and future at risk.

A girl’s education changes everything. An educated girl is more likely to grow up healthy, safe and empowered to determine the course of her life and future. She’ll decide when she’s ready for marriage and children. She’ll likely send her children to school – and even live a longer life.

We understand the importance of education for girl children. We do whatever it takes to ensure every last child has a chance to grow up healthy, educated and safe – her best chance for a bright future. 

With your help, we can educate girls who may not otherwise have the chance to learn — changing the course of their lives, their children’s lives and the future of their communities.

Promoting Girls Education

Save the Children’s Every Last Child campaign aims to reach the most vulnerable children, those left behind by the world’s progress in child health, education and protection — including girls. Too many girls, because of who they are or where they’re born, face unique challenges. Together, we will improve girls education. We will reach every last girl, empowering her to grow up healthy, educated and safe. Free to lead her own life, speak her mind and determine her future.

Did You Know?

• One girl under age 15 is married every seven seconds. 
• Girls are 3X more likely to be out of school*
• Girls are 2X more likely to die from malnutrition*
• Girls are 2X more likely to be subjected to sexual violence*
• Girls are 2X more likely to get coerced into trafficking*

*Sources: U.N. Foundation; Girls Not Brides

Roja’s Story: The Importance of Education For Girls

In Cambodia , nearly 23% of children are out of school. Even more shocking, 52 out of 1,000 girls become adolescent mothers. These are girls denied the opportunities they deserve – and forced to grow up far too fast.

But innocent, eager Roja, age 5, is on the path to a brighter future. She attends a Save the Children early childhood development center near her village. There, we encourage her early learning and development, including drawing and art to enhance creativity. We also train teachers and involve parents, caregivers and whole communities in encouraging girls education and learning opportunities.

Your donation can help educate girls like Roja – giving her best chance for the bright future she deserves.

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Why girls’ education should remain a priority

Raja bentaouet kattan, laura rawlings, courtney melissa merchant.

A decade after the World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development we have seen encouraging improvement in education outcomes for girls. Primary school completion rates are almost equal between boys and girls, and there has been significant progress in secondary education enrollment rates.

Girls’ education matters, but our focus must evolve to meet new challenges.

First, girls in high poverty and settings of fragility, conflict and violence (FCV) still face challenges in attendance and enrollment. Learning remains a critical issue for both boys and girls alike.   

Second, ensuring that girls access quality education is a central part of building and protecting human capital for themselves today, for their future economic prospects and for successive generations. Human capital promotion and protection are a key outcome of the proposed World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024-30 .  In Achieving Gender Equality in Education: Examining Progress and Constraints , an underpinning for the new gender strategy, we take a close look at the latest research and findings on gender equality outcomes in education, as well as issues, evidence on promising solutions, operational good practices, and areas for future engagement.  

We need multipronged approaches based on what works to close gaps in girls’ education

The benefits of girls’ education are clear, including across health, social and economic outcomes.    And the evidence is decisive on many areas of what works to overcome barriers that girls face—for example, tackling obstacles of distance and cost through interventions including scholarships, stipends, and cash transfers.

At the same time, there are fewer studies in many areas such as the utility of social campaigns for boosting girls’ education enrollment; how gender-sensitive curricula, textbooks, and teaching can reduce bias and further girls’ achievement; and the impacts of school-based interventions for girls, such as separate toilets, school safety, and gender-based violence (GBV) reduction mechanisms. Studies are beginning to emerge in these areas, and more are needed.

This research informs policy approaches that target multiple barriers faced by girls, providing a strong base to continue to test, learn, adapt and expand on these approaches.

Schools are social incubators, playing a pivotal role in empowering girls and shaping norms

Research shows the clear impact of social norms on gender outcomes , including schooling and education outcomes.  Importantly, we know that schools have the power to shape these norms and give both girls and boys the ability to positively transform their roles, behaviors and futures. We consider schools as “incubators” where students develop a view of their own potential and rights, and as critical to empowering all students. 

One way we can bolster this link is through empowerment programs targeting adolescent girls. Evidence from Africa and South Asia has demonstrated the impressive impact of adolescent girls’ empowerment programs, for example from the World Bank’s Adolescent Girls Initiative .  The World Bank is now supporting a “new generation” of projects in Angola, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Mozambique that build on lessons from previous efforts, including the Adolescent Girls Initiative and the Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographics Project. These approaches target sexual and reproductive health and rights, GBV, and women’s economic participation. For example, the Sudan Basic Education Support Project includes activities to train schools and their surrounding communities on GBV reduction.

We must bridge the broken link to employment

There are clear disparities in  women and men’s labor market outcomes, and education has a pivotal role in this tackling this. We see an education-employment paradox, in which high learning outcomes are not translating to labor market outcomes for girls. On the flip side, boys often face the challenge of underperformance in schools , but have higher labor market outcomes.

As more and more girls are accessing education, we need to look at how we can help them translate education into successful outcomes.   A striking 1 in 4 girls aged 15–19 globally are not in education, employment or training (NEET), compared to 1 in 10 boys.   That is a quarter of girls who are not able to engage fully in developing higher order skills or realizing the returns to their education in the workforce. In Latin America, a recent World Bank study finds the share of girls who are NEETs is significantly higher than among young men, and can be as high as 46%. They find that the challenges girls face are often different than for boys and are often strongly impacted by gender norms.

Access to reproductive health services among adolescents, encouraging girls’ agency and aspirations including for employment in higher paying occupations, and using proven approaches such as mentoring to address occupational segregation are all needed.

How can education programs contribute to address this problem? The Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Project in Bangladesh , for example, is working with girls and their family members to increase access to education and skills training and promote the employability of the NEET youth, especially girls and women. The project also promotes equal access and opportunities for other subgroups, including persons with disability, transgender, and ethnic minorities.

Girls’ education is essential for sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development

This year, the World Bank has created a new vision for an evolving mission, one that emphasizes addressing global challenges on a livable planet .  This cannot be achieved without gender equality in education. 

Girls’ education is highly vulnerable to disruption from fragility and crises including conflict and climate change effects. Notably, girls in FCV situations are some of the most marginalized.  At the same time, educating girls strengthens countries’ resilience to shocks . Girls and women also have a pivotal role in addressing climate change, whether at the household level, in the community or in the labor market. One way to support this is through STEM investments, which empower girls to shape their societies and environments as scientists, innovators and active citizens . In Tanzania, for example, the Higher Education for Economic Transformation Project is making a strong, multi-pronged push to promote more girls and young women in STEM subjects.

Where do we go from here?

It is increasingly pressing to support girls’ abilities to thrive in an ever-changing world and to be able to tackle global challenges. These ideas and more are detailed in our policy note.  You can download it here , and share your feedback on the WBG gender strategy to help us shape the path ahead. 

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We know from decades of research that when girls and women are educated, we see faster poverty reduction, better maternal health, lower child mortality, greater HIV prevention and reduced violence. Each additional year a girl spends in school can also boost her earnings as an adult by  up to 20 per cent .

As the world comes together for the  Transforming Education Summit  this September, we must remember that all children deserve to learn and despite great strides made in girls’ education over the last few decades, girls from the poorest households and in rural areas are still being left behind. According to UN Women and UNDESA’s new report,  Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot , even without the COVID-19 fallout, it will take at least another 54 years to reach universal primary school completion for girls.

The report also cites recent data from 29 countries showing that gaps in upper secondary school completion among the poorest rural girls and the richest urban girls can range from 11.5 to 72.2 percentage points.

Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, migratory status and disabilities can also disrupt education. Children with disabilities have less access to early childhood education, according to data from 42 countries, and the disparity is greater for girls (only 18 per cent of girls with one or more functioning difficulties attended an early childhood education programme, compared to 28 per cent of girls without). And pandemic-related disruptions to education have further deepened inequalities in learning for girls and young women.

COVID-19 compounds existing inequalities

Now more than two years into the pandemic, despite most schools being reopened, the disruptions in education will leave lasting impacts, particularly among marginalized and vulnerable girls. For instance, the Gender Snapshot reveals that in rural Pakistan, learning losses are higher among girls than boys across all subjects. In the Mexican states of Campeche and Yucatan, the share of 10-year-old students who can comprehend simple texts declined by 25 percentage points among those with low socioeconomic status, compared to 15 percentage points for those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Worldwide, nearly 130 million girls are not enrolled in formal education, and more than half of them are in crisis-affected countries. In Afghanistan, girls are no longer even allowed to attend secondary school.

To address these problems, time and resources are required, yet fewer than 3 per cent of COVID-19 stimulus funds have gone to education.

COVID-19 also brought increased adolescent pregnancies, which further threaten girls’ education. The Gender Snapshot reveals that in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, 56 per cent of adolescent girls from hard-to-reach populations who dropped out of school early in the pandemic were currently or recently pregnant. The pandemic has also placed girls at greater risk of gender-based violence, mental health disorders and food and economic insecurity.

COVID-19 illnesses and deaths among adult caregivers have also yielded lower educational outcomes. As of October 2021, over 5 million children had lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID-19. For adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa, such losses increased their risk of sexual violence, exploitation, HIV infection and lower educational attainment.

Missing opportunities in tech and innovation

The report also notes that long-held biased gender norms and stereotypes remain embedded in curricula, textbooks and teaching, derailing girls’ choices of what to study and what careers to pursue. Globally, young women outnumber men in tertiary education, but in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), women make up only 35 per cent of students, and in ICT, women make up just 3 per cent.

Across countries, girls are steered away from STEM. Teachers and parents, both intentionally and inadvertently, perpetuate biases around what work is “suitable” for women and men. In the Philippines, girls as young as 10 lose interest in STEM subjects, perceiving such careers as male-dominated and believing that girls are naturally less skilled in STEM. Without women role models in STEM, these perceptions are continually reinforced. Women make up just 19.9 per cent of science and engineering professionals.

Gaps in STEM education and careers are even larger for women and girls disadvantaged by the intersection of gender and other vulnerabilities. In the United States of America, the report reveals that Black and Hispanic women in STEM earn about $20,000 a year less than the average for STEM jobs and about $33,000 less than their white male counterparts.

With the Transforming Education Summit bringing together so many leaders and experts, its critical that we take this convening as an opportunity to make bold and transformative commitments that advance girls’ education, including by promoting more girls in STEM fields and prioritizes learning and education outcomes of girls from marginalized communities who are most at risk, and then carry that momentum on to next year when the  67 th  session of the Commission on the Status of Women  comes together under the theme “Innovation and technological change and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.

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Essay on Girl Education for Students and Children

500+ words essay on girl education.

If we look at the demographics, India is one of the most populated countries. However, the rate of girl education is quite low in the country. It is quite troubling to see the figures in a country where women are given the status of goddesses. The figures have significantly improved to an extent but there’s still a long way to go.

Women were not allowed to even step out of their houses in ancient India , but times are changing. Along with changing times, people’s thinking is also changing. They wish to educate their girls and see them succeed in life. However, this is not the case in rural India which makes for more than 60% of the population. We need to identify the factors responsible for such low rates of girl education to find some solutions.

Factors Contributing to Low Rate of Girl Education

There are various factors that make it impossible for girls to get an education in our country. Firstly, the poverty rate is alarming. Even though education is being made free, it still involves a substantial cost to send girls to school. Therefore, families who are struggling to make ends meet fail to pay the educational expenses of their children.

Secondly, in rural areas, there aren’t many schools. This creates a distance problem as they are located far from the villages. In some areas, students have to walk for three to four hours to reach their school. This is where the safety of the girls gets compromised so parents don’t see it fit to send them off so far.

Furthermore, the regressive thinking of the people makes it tougher for girls to get an education. Some people still believe girls are meant to stay in their houses and look after the kitchen. They do not like women to do any other tasks expect for household ones.

Other than that, social issues like child marriage and child labor also stop the girl from getting an education. Parents pull daughters out of school to marry them off at an early age. Also, when girls indulge in child labor, they do not get time to study.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Benefits of Girl Education

If we wish to see India progress and develop, we need to educate our girl child. They are indeed the future of our nation. Moreover, when they become educated, they will not have to be dependent on others for their livelihood.

One of the most important benefits of girl education is that the country’s future will be brighter and better. Similarly, our economy can grow faster if more and more women become financially strong thereby reducing poverty.

Furthermore, women who are educated can take proper care of their children. This will strengthen the future as lesser kids will die due to a lack of vaccination or a similar reason. Even for women, they will be less likely to become a patient of HIV/AIDS as they will be aware of the consequences.

Most importantly, educated women can result in a decrease in social issues like corruption, child marriage , domestic abuse and more. They will become more confident and handle their families better in all spheres. Thus we see how one educated woman can bring so much change in her life along with the others as well.

Some FAQs on Girl Education

Q.1 Why is girl education not encouraged in India?

A.1 India is still a developing country. It has too much poverty and regressive thinking. It is one of the main reasons why people don’t encourage girls to get an education.

Q.2 What are the advantages of educating girls?

A.2 When we educate girls, we educate a whole nation. As she teaches everyone around her. The education of girls will result in a better economy and a brighter future along with enhanced confidence of the girl.

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Art fest sheds light on importance of education for girl children

Updated - September 10, 2024 10:45 pm IST - Chennai

Sabrina Siga, an equine artist takes a look at the artwork created by government school students exhibited as a part of ‘She learns, She leads’ art festival organised by Child Rights and You (CRY) at Loyola College, Nungambakkam in Chennai on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: AKHILA EASWARAN

An Art Fest titled ‘She Learns, She Leads: Celebrating the Power of Girls’ Education’ was held here on Tuesday.

The one-day art fest was organised by Child Rights and You (CRY) at Loyola College, in an effort to highlight girls’ education, especially in the higher secondary level. It is part of CRY’s nationwide campaign: Poori Padhai, Desh ki Bhalai (Complete Education of Girls Helps the Country Prosper), which began in June.

John Roberts, Regional Director, CRY South, referring to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) said, “Around 83% of girls aged 6-10 years attend primary school, but this figure drops to 70 per cent for girls aged 11-17 attending secondary school. This decline is driven by a range of socio-economic factors, such as poverty, gender discrimination and regional disparities.”

Arivazhagan Rayan, consultant, CRY Chennai, noted that there was a need for more higher secondary schools in localities that are accessible. “Most of the times, the girls do not get to pursue higher secondary education as the school is far. Parents cite safety and transportation as key factors for the girls to not attend schools. Just providing a bicycle does not do the job,” he said.

“The girl child has always been looked down upon. She has been given step-motherly treatment. The girl child is a burden and at times a curse; and this is because of the dowry system,” said Sabrina Siga, an artist.

The exhibition featured 110 artworks of children from the Southern States and Andaman Islands. A total of 1,933 children from 44 schools participated in the southern region.

A Louis Arockiaraj S.J., principal, Loyola college, Dr. Vanitha, head of the department of sociology, John Bosk, senior manager, CRY South and Manisha Rabha, Manager, Communications, CRY South also participated in the event.

(photo by Akhila)

Published - September 10, 2024 08:35 pm IST

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Illegal migrant convicted of violent assault on martha’s vineyard got released then allegedly raped a child — despite ice requesting 3 times to detain him.

An illegal migrant convicted of a violent assault on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts was released — and then went on to allegedly rape a child just months later — despite ICE requesting he be handed over to them, the feds say. 

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Boston said it had to ask to take custody of Brazilian national Warley Neto, 24, three times before federal agents were finally allowed to grab him.

Two of the towns that were involved int the case — Edgartown and Tisbury — have declared themselves sanctuary cities.

Neto was taken into custody by the feds in the  upmarket liberal enclave  of Edgartown on Aug. 23 after he was indicted on five counts of raping a Massachusetts minor and five counts of enticing a minor under 16 earlier this year, according to ICE officials.

A “friendly” sheriff’s office finally notified ICE authorities — who nabbed him in court before Neto was to be released again, an agency official told The Post. “They went above and beyond in order to notify us and turn them over to us and everything.”

Neto had illegally crossed into the US near Paso Del Norte, Texas, in March 2018 but was released from custody after being served with a notice to appear before an immigration judge at a later date, authorities said.

He popped back up on ICE’s radar in February last year after he was arrested by local cops in Martha’s Vineyard on a slew of charges — including strangulation, assault and battery on a family or household member and threat to commit a crime. This was the first time ERO asked to detain Neto.

Neto, who was found guilty on the charges in June 2023, was sentenced to a year in prison but was freed after the Edgartown District Court suspended all but 90 days of the sentence, according to the feds.

An ERO official said the agency was not notified that he was about to be freed into the community.

Just months later, in January of this year, Neto was rearrested and indicted in Dukes County Superior Court on the rape charges, federal officials said.

Details on the attacks Neto allegedly carried out — including who he targeted, when and where — weren’t immediately available.

The ERO again asked local cops to take custody of him.

However, he was booked into the Dukes County Jail in the wake of his January arrest on the rape charges.

He was finally transferred into ICE custody after Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston lodged its third  immigration detainer  against him late last month.

Dukes County Sheriff’s office Major Greg Arpin told The Post that while their office doesn’t “hold” migrants on ICE detainers beyond their sentences, they do make it a point to “notify interested parties of any releases.”

“That’s what happened in this case,” Arpin said.

It wasn’t clear when Neto first made his way to Martha’s Vineyard, or if he was  among the planeloads of migrants  shipped there by Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022.

“Warley Neto allegedly repeatedly assaulted a Massachusetts child and represents a significant threat to the safety of our neighborhoods,” said Todd M. Lyons, director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston’s field office.

“We are grateful for the cooperation of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office for prioritizing public safety and allowing Neto’s safe transfer of custody to ERO.

“Too often local jurisdictions refuse to honor immigration detainers and release dangerous offenders back into the community to reoffend. ERO Boston will continue to apprehend and remove the most egregious noncitizen offenders from New England.”

ERO, which is part of ICE, is tasked with detaining and removing illegal immigrants from the US — including at the order of immigration judges with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

The Martha’s Vineyard incident was not the first time in recent weeks that violent migrants were cut loose despite ERO Boston lodging detainers against them.

On Sept. 6, Jorge Luis Castro-Alvarado, 28, was arrested by ERO Boston after he was charged with rape in Lynn, Massachusetts, on Aug. 1.

ERO had previously lodged a detainer against Castro-Alvarado on Feb. 9 after he was arrested for a separate charge of assault and battery on a family or household member.

Castro-Alvarado  – who entered the US at an unknown date and location – was convicted by the Lynn District Court and sentenced to 18 months in prison, but had his sentenced shortened.

He was then arraigned in April for two counts of rape, and indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old – but cut loose despite the ERO detainer before he was finally picked up months later in September.

And Cory Alvarez – a 26-year-old from Haiti – was arrested in August on charges for raping a child in Massachusetts.

ERO had a detainer lodged against him, but he was released on a low bail in March after he was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl.

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Dave Grohl Admits He Has a New Baby Outside of His 23-Year Marriage: 'Doing Everything I Can to Regain Trust'

Grohl has been married to wife Jordyn Blum since 2003 and the two share three kids together

VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty

Dave Grohl has shared that he welcomed another baby outside of his marriage.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the Foo Fighters rocker, 55, shared on Instagram that he recently welcomed a daughter with a woman outside of his marriage. "I've recently become the father of a new baby daughter, born outside of my marriage," he wrote in a statement.

"I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her. I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness," he continued. "We're grateful for your consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together."

A rep for Grohl had no additional comment.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Grohl has been married to wife Jordyn Blum since 2003. The couple shares three kids, daughters Violet, 18, Harper, 15, and Ophelia, 10.

Although the former Nirvana drummer doesn't often speak about his wife in interviews, he discussed the importance of his family in 2009, telling  TIME , "I used to tour nine months out of the year. Now I don't like being away from my kids for more than 12 days."

The musician continued, "It's changed everything that I do. When you have kids, you see life through different eyes. You feel love more deeply and are maybe a little more compassionate. It's inevitable that that would make its way into your songwriting."

James Veysey/Shutterstock

In 2023, Blum made a rare public appearance with Grohl and their three daughters for the 2023  Grammy Awards , where the family of five  posed together for photos on the red carpet .

Blum wore a short, black sequined dress while Grohl sported an all-black ensemble. Meanwhile, the couple's eldest daughter Violet rocked a blazer dress and knee-high boots; Harper donned a floral dress with lug sole boots; and Ophelia wore a floaty ombré dress that she accessorized with a gold purse.

Blum and Grohl were most recently spotted attending London's  Wimbledon  tennis tournament in July 2024. The two sat together in the coveted Royal Box seats alongside several celebrities, including  David Beckham .

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Why educating women is more important than we realize

The Times of India

The Stri or the Female Energy is the creatrix, mother of all gods, conqueror of all evil, dispenser of all boons in the Indian culture. She is considered the divine power of the universe from where all beings are born. This divine female energy is worshipped with intense adoration and devotion in India.

Yet, it is in India itself that we find the most intense contradiction towards the female shakti.

On one hand we surrender to the divine Durga to protect us and on the other hand we look down upon the feminine principle with condemnation, contempt, cause of all failures, source of lust and miseries.

An Indian woman suffers this wrath both in her mind and heart right from her birth. She struggles to understand her true role, position, and identity in human society. She lives in a dilemma, wondering whether to relate to the feminine deities being erected all around her or to an unborn female avatar which was never allowed to be born.

Since ancient times women have not been denied legal, social, and educational rights in India but certainly in practise they have been more preoccupied and confined to domestic affairs and that is where their social subordination began.

Despite such subjugation, women have survived important roles such as bold householders, strong mothers, queens, administrators, warriors, elected representatives and leaders. Therefore, despite oppression and denial, India has, time and again, truly experienced the shakti of this female creative force.

The way forward for India and humans in general is to treat the Female Shakti (The Feminine Powerhouse) with respect, deep regard, equal access to experiences, learning and opportunities. All sexes should be allowed to find, above all sexual differences, their full inner potential.

India, the land of diversity and contrast, India the ardent worshipper of the Shakti-The Durga can perhaps lead mankind into human success based in deep regard for the deep inner potential, intellectual prowess and ingenuity of women. Denying women their due place is denying mankind its due success.

Women Across the Globe

The battle for legal, civil, social, and educational equality is a central element of woman’s rights globally. However, a deeper understanding of the women’s needs has revealed that in daily life they struggle to voice their objections and opinions, struggle to agree or disagree, condemn, or promote, speak, share, discuss, and struggle to manage, participate and lead.

Therefore, it would not be incorrect to state that the battle is only half won if the women get access to education and opportunities but no access to exercise their will.

Women across the globe may be characterized by diversity in feminine energy and feminine approach to life, work, family, and society yet their basic emotional, psychological, physical, mental, intellectual, social, professional, and creative needs tie them together to a common cause. The common cause being-women across the globe want to be active participants and decision makers in their own lives and refuse the passivity that is expected of them.

A modern progressive woman prides herself with all her feminine virtues. She wishes to embrace her own self in entirety not to put men down but only to break out of an oppressed state so that she can realize her own untapped full potential.

Women today are capable of and want to accumulate the advantages of both the sexes, but she is not willing to pay an unfair price for achieving this. For instance, a young mother wants the right to work or not to work to lie within the realms of her decision-making powers.

She wishes to be able to make a choice between scenarios where in one she wishes to fully involve herself in her motherhood and suspend her professional aspirations without being made to feel undeserving or financially dependent. Or in another scenario where she wishes to strike a balance between her motherhood and professional duties and yet not labelled as irresponsible and selfish. Such a state of choice with dignity would be true liberation for a young mother.

Equal Education is a Steppingstone Towards Gender Equality, Quality Socialization and Economic Growth

Denying women access to equal and quality education opportunities encourages gender segregation and stereotypical behaviour in society. Perceptions towards gender roles are sowed by members of family and society very early on in the lives of men and women which adversely impacts the quality of the socialization process.

Creating gender neutral learning environments can serve as a steppingstone to quality socialization. This in turn can help in creating favourable position for women in creative, scientific, technological, professional endeavours and lessen their personal and social struggles.

Any society that denies and discourages women from boldly participating in the learning process is only encouraging biased patterns that are deeply rooted in promoting the influential masculine identity.

Quality education can help both men and women understand these deep-seated issues in our society, raise their collective and individual levels of awareness, understand the importance of all people, irrespective of sex, in building a healthy and conscious society. In order to ensure sustainable development, it has become imperative to recognize the importance of all the sexes.

When a girl is educated, she is empowered. She can make her own decisions, raise the standard of living for her family and children, create more job opportunities, and reform society as a whole. As a result, a shift in attitudes toward girl child education in India is urgently needed. Every girl child deserves to be treated with love and respect. If all girls complete their education and participate in the workforce, India could add a whopping $770 billion to the country’s GDP by 2025!

Some Important Statistics

As per statistics presented by UNICEF, 129 million girls are out of school around the world, including 32 million of primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67 million of upper-secondary school age.

Borgen Project, a US based not for profit, study has revealed that every year, 23 million girls in India drop out of school after they begin menstruating due to lack of sanitary napkin dispensers and overall hygiene awareness in schools.

As per National Survey of India, Literacy Rate in India has increased from 73% in 2011 to 77.7% in 2022, however it still stands behind the global literacy rate which stands at 86.5% (as per UNESCO). Of the 77.7% Indian literacy rate in 2022, male literacy rate stands at 84.7% and female literacy rate stands at 70.3% as compared to global average female literacy rate of 79% (as per UNESCO).

There are several factors that influence poorer literacy rates in women as compared to men, the biggest and most crucial factors being inequality and sex-based discrimination. This discrimination pushes the girl child to either never be born (female infanticide) or the woman to be predominantly pushed into household affairs.

Low enrolment rates, high dropout rates, social discrimination, unsafe public spaces, prioritizing boy child education are some other important factors that negatively influence female education.

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Head of state children’s cabinet named New Mexico’s new public education secretary

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Mariana Padilla has been named New Mexico’s new Public Education Department secretary for K-12 schools, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Tuesday.

Padilla replaces Arsenio Romero, who resigned Aug. 28 after about a year and a half on the job .

New Mexico State University officials announced in August that Romero is one of the finalists in its search for a new president and a decision is expected by the end of this month.

Michael Coleman, a spokesperson for the governor, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that Lujan Grisham gave Romero “a choice to either resign and continue pursuing the NMSU position or stay on the job and withdraw his candidacy at NMSU.”

Coleman added that “the Secretary of Public Education is critically important in New Mexico and the governor believes it’s imperative that the person serving in this role be fully committed to the job.”

The department has struggled to turn educational outcomes around as high percentages of students fail to be proficient in math and reading.

Padilla has served as the director of the New Mexico Children’s Cabinet since the start of Lujan Grisham’s administration and has been the governor’s senior education policy advisor, overseeing early childhood, K-12 and higher education.

Lujan Grisham said in a statement that Padilla’s work “has been instrumental in shaping our state’s education system and I am confident that she will continue to bring positive change for New Mexico’s students.”

Padilla began her career as an elementary school teacher in her hometown of Albuquerque.