Education & Girls

1. Education & Girls

2. Accessibility of Girls to Education • Total children in school 5.4 million, only 2.3 million of girls are in schools • Still 60% of girls are out of school • Currently 11,460 schools out of which 15% 1719 for girls only and 51% 5844 for both boys and girls(primary schools) • The majority of girls at schools are between age of 6-12

3. Education-Girls & Development • Education is the key to development • Decades of conflict devastated much of Afghanistan human, physical and institutional infrastructure, and insecurity remains a critical challenge to development efforts • The 30 years of War and only 10 years of development • One of the reason why the development is very slow in Afghanistan is the lower % of literacy among people • The total literacy rate is 43% and among female it is only 12%

4. Education-Girl-Cont • Occupation in rural are mainly life stock, agriculture. Women support their male partners in the farms, girls are taking care of life stocks in age of 8-10 • Development needs does not only need literacy but advanced knowledge, familiarization with technology that speeds up the development process

5. Continu…. • Women has less involvement in development process • Culturally, there have been distribution of professionals between male and female in Afghan society • In urban areas literate women basically involved in teaching, offices, house keeping, while in rural areas they are working in agriculture, houses. • Female does not involved in decison-makings

6. Barriers the education of girls in Afghanistan • Security (molestation and harassment) • Socio-cultural barriers (low value to girls education), early marriages, pallid role of women in society • Lack of female teachers in rural areas • Lack of number of schools for girls • Poverty, forced to work • Long distance of schools, difficulty in mobility • Lack of certain essential school facilities, building, drinking water • Very restricted possibility of girls to enter higher education

7. What should be done • Public awareness and advocacy for girls education in rural areas • To reduce insecurity risks, establishment of community based schools • Training of potential females in teacher training and management (Accelerated learning , leadership) • Providing better and secure environment which encourage more females to come in to teaching and creating conducive environment for girls • Providing support programs (skill building, scholarships) • Integrating gender education in the teacher, head teacher and management of schools • Harmonized education system has be in placed • Increasing community ownership about schools (community should contribute to school building • Long term education programs, and donors’ commitment • Commitment of other ministries contribute to edcuation

8. Thank You