I can't wait to hear the Education Director's statement on International Women's Day. yasmin sherif
new york, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In many parts of the world, women have endured thousands of years of oppression, subjugation, and systematic denial of their human and economic potential.
Women's education and leadership have been denied, delayed, or destroyed. While progress has certainly been made, millions of women around the world remain shackled by discrimination and the deprivation of their rights and potential.
We can’t wait to see Director-General for Education Yasmin Sherif’s recent visit to Nigeria.
But all the world needs today is an equal share of leadership among highly educated and empowered women.
This year, as people gather around the world for International Women's Day, #WeTheWomen will say no to oppression, no to denying girls their right to a quality education, and no to entrenched patriarchal systems.
Today, we stand for girls' education and we stand for strengthening women's leadership. If we are to truly 'invest in women to accelerate progress', we need to increase awareness and affirmative action globally.
All forms of overt and covert oppression, including gender oppression, must be addressed in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the United Nations Charter and other binding international commitments. undermine our global efforts. Match.
To empower young girls and future generations of female leaders as a whole, and to right the wrongs of millennia of subjugation, we are committed to providing comprehensive, high-quality education for today's girls and young women. must be invested in. Only by doing so now can we empower them to lead in all areas of work and life.
It's going to be a tough battle. The world is off track in our efforts to achieve the goals of gender equality and quality education by 2030. At current rates of progress, it will take 300 years to end child marriage, and 140 years to end child marriage, according to a United Nations analysis. Gain equal representation in workplace leadership.
Every girl has the right to a truly solid education and lifelong learning. Under no circumstances can this right be denied to her on the basis of her gender. In fact, through affirmative action and guidance by her parents, teachers, and society, every girl has the option to reach her full potential and pursue a professional path as a leader rather than a follower. should be encouraged to have.
You must do so now. Currently, 129 million girls around the world are out of school. The challenges are toughest for girls, who are on the front lines of armed conflict, climate change, forced displacement and other protracted crises. Without access to education, crisis-affected girls face child marriage, human trafficking, slavery, economic exclusion, forced and unpaid labor, and oppressive male dependency and patriarchal systems. They will face increased risks. This kind of dependence is not only a violation of our rights as human beings, but it is also unhealthy and economically unsustainable for a society that wants to progress.
But even in the face of adversity, there is hope.
My recent mission is to Nigeria, I met with girls and young women abducted by Boko Haram and splinter groups. Despite enduring horrific experiences, they were able to heal and regain their strength through comprehensive education, including mental health and psychosocial services. Now, stronger than ever, they are inspiring other young girls as examples of resilience and determination.
With support from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and global strategic partners, we are empowering girls fleeing Boko Haram. Some study valuable trades in vocational schools, while others study to become teachers, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and entrepreneurs. They went through very dark times in their youth, but the darkness no longer owns them. They own their lives and are the captains of their own destiny.
ECW provides access to both formal and non-formal education in northeastern Nigeria through joint programs in partnership with UNICEF, NRC, and Save the Children. Innovative new investments by the Global Survivors Fund are also supporting education as reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the region. This is an important and highly successful first educational approach for helping children find their identity and prepare them for the rest of their lives.
in Afghanistan, an entire generation of girls continues to be denied access to quality education, and an entire generation of women is denied many of their basic human rights. This country has experienced great suffering for a long time. Afghanistan To rebuild this war-torn country, girls and women need education. That's why we continue to advocate for equal rights for all girls and young women. Afghanistan – The right to quality education, especially through the global #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign. We also continue to engage girls in community-based learning programs through local partners.
About our mission Democratic Republic of the Congo, I met a 15-year-old female victim of sexual violence. She studied and mentored other girls while caring for two children conceived through rape. In Tanganyika Province, ethnic violence, gender-based sexual violence, and forced migration continue to put women and girls at constant risk of sexual abuse, with 49% of girls married before the age of 18. There is. With ECW's support, this girl and the approximately 250 other girls in her displacement camp are returning to learning in safe classrooms and receiving collective support to care for their children. They are true heroes, not only to all the girls at camp, but to all of us.
We provide girls like them with access to comprehensive, high-quality learning so they can heal, learn, hope, and achieve a better future. By teaching girls science, technology, engineering and math, we're giving them the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century. By providing access to school counselors and mental health services, we are helping entire generations cope with the effects of war, forced displacement and sexual violence. But more needs to be done. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, 200,000 girls are reportedly raped. Much more could be achieved by significantly increasing financial investment in their healing, recovery and education.
So let's not stop at commemorating International Women's Day. Instead, start by significantly increasing funding for such proven solutions. 'Education Can't Wait' calls on public and private sector donors and the wealthy to urgently mobilize 600 million dollars In order to achieve the goal of 1.5 billion USD In fundraising.
With these new resources, we will be able to provide comprehensive, continuous, and quality education to 20 million children and youth affected by the crisis, including 12 million girls. Become. This urgently needed increase in funding supports our commitment to building a more equal world between women and men through education that overcomes generational discrimination and builds human leadership for the 21st century. It will be a major step forward in our joint efforts.
Source Education Can't Wait
