FACT: Girls Are Often Withdrawn from School

This statement is itself unfair. Most girls do not leave school of their own accord. They are withdrawn from school, often by their parents or guardians, for a range of reasons. Rarely are sons forcibly taken out of school, although boys do sometimes abandon their studies as a result of their own disinterest, illness or failure in examinations. Parents give many reasons for pulling girls out of school, many of them reflecting the belief that women's roles should be confined to the home. "She is needed to help with household chores." "There is no one to look after her siblings." "She needs to get married at a young age." "She is not going to go out and work." "We don't educate girls in our community." "Well-educated daughters are difficult to marry." Such thoughts reflect a clear gender bias, the short- and long-term consequences of which are disastrous.

Many studies have documented that continued exclusion of girls from obtaining an education is closely linked to various aspects of poverty: economic decline, political instability, health crises, social unrest, and domestic violence. In many societies, parents place a high premium on boys' education, the benefits of which are rarely questioned. Sons, when educated, will find better jobs and be better equipped to fulfill the traditional role of "provider" for their families. This in turn will lead to a higher social status. In fact, most parents not only encourage their sons to achieve higher levels of education, they expect them to do so.

Parents' expectations for girls, however, are often confined to domestic boundaries. Parents may ask: "Why invest in girls' education when she will move to her husband's village after marriage?" Across many societies, a girl's life and future are dictated by parental anxiety. Parents are reluctant to send their girls to schools outside the village for fear that violence or some social ill will befall them. When girls do attend school, their education ends abruptly at puberty, their parents citing: "It is now time for her to learn housework." Yet, even when girls are permitted to continue their studies, many schools do not have decent toilets or water facilities for older girls. This fact alone is a major deterrent to keeping girls in school.

Is it possible to influence parental motivations and social traditions so that all girls can go to school? The answer is yes. Many benefits accrue from well thought-out interventions that focus on girls' education: helping families deter costs by offering school meals and supplies for girls, encouraging female teachers to promote girls' education, building schools closer to homes, improving school sanitation, and increasing employment opportunities for older girls and women. More importantly, promoting girls' education to all community members as not only a fundamental right, but as a major way to improve social and economic well-being, is crucial. This entails launching massive social campaigns involving local and national leaders as well as community representatives. Most critical of all is to help parents realize that schooling is imperative for girls. With their support and cooperation, local and national governments must work to ensure quality education and end all forms of gender biases in schooling. Only then can universal education become a social norm.