By: Mireya Rajendran
Young girls are facing increasingly grave consequences of armed conflict, especially in regards to their education. According to Unicef, “In countries affected by conflict, girls are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys” (“27 Million Children out of School in Conflict Zones”). There are many factors, which, combined, cause this disproportionality. Girls are often taken out of school due to family concerns, sexism, violence, oppressive government systems, etc. What people don’t seem to grasp is the severity of the consequences caused by keeping girls from getting a proper education and the amount of benefits associated with simply educating girls. In an article published by the United Nations titled “Youth and Education,” the importance of educating young people of the world is continuously stressed as the UN mentions, “education is important in eradicating poverty and hunger and in promoting sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development.” Without education and schooling, girls automatically become prone to the dangers of child marriage, trafficking, exploitation (child labor practices), abuse, cult/harmful group intuition, and even early military recruitment. The girls, who are being denied educational rights, also have no way of contributing for the betterment of their local second/third-world region. This detrimental problem can be solved by governments enforcing International Humanitarian Law and guaranteeing equal education for all. So, in order to protect girls in war-torn countries, help them flourish socially and economically in the future, and decrease poverty, governments must prioritize girls’ schooling and ensure every young girl has safe access to a good education.
To begin, we must analyze the question: why is girls’ education so disproportionately affected by armed conflict and war? A large reason for girls being unable to continue their schooling is family concerns. Many families living in unstable situations fear sending their daughters to school, primarily due to concerns about violence. TheirWorld, a global children’s charity committed to ending the global education crisis, states, “During violent conflicts, girls are deliberately targeted by armed groups and government forces. They often suffer sexual violence, abduction, intimidation and harassment” (“13 Reasons Why Girls Are Not in School on International Day of the Girl Child”). Not only this, but often military groups, who are against girls’ education, will deliberately attack girls’ schools, further solidifying concerns about safety. In specific countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Niger, South Sudan, and Chad these concerns are heightened because of extremist groups committing femicide - “the most extreme form of gender-based violence” defined as “the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender, usually by a man” (Rodriguez) - and generally striving to keep girls out of school, in an effort to silence women and promote ideals of a male-dominated society. Three of these countries (South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Chad) also “account for highest rate of girls who are out of school, at 76 per cent for South Sudan, Afghanistan (55 per cent) and Chad (53 per cent)” (“Girls Worst Affected as Conflict Keeps More than 25 Million Children out of School”). All countries mentioned are in a state of civil unrest, have corrupt governments, or are in a constant struggle with militant groups. Pakistan falls under the same category. Malala Yousafzai, a modern-day activist, was once a young Pakistani girl yearning for an education in a time when the Taliban, a Muslim extremist group, enforced a ban preventing girls from attending school. Upon riding the bus back home from school on January 9, 2012, Malala took a fatal shot to the face after Taliban officials plotted to kill her for speaking on television and advocating for the importance of girls’ education. After being transported to several international hospitals, Malala miraculously survived and continues to advocate for girls’ education and runs the Malala Fund, dedicated to donating for girls’ education; however, Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, remembers the event as “the worst thing that could happen to a family” and claims “remembering it is traumatic” (Yousafzai). Family concerns are always valid and, therefore, governments should be held responsible for alleviating these fears and ensuring girls’ safety while simultaneously protecting their right to an education.
“‘Over 130 million girls are still out of school - that's over 130 million potential engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers and politicians whose leadership the world is missing out on,’ said Gayle Smith, president of the ONE Campaign” (Suliman). Smith highlights the consequence of keeping girls out of school regarding the potential loss of a bright future and no future socio economic improvement. In fact, “[t]oday, 4 of the 5 countries with the largest gender gaps in education are conflict-affected countries (CAR, Chad, Yemen and South Sudan)” (Pariat). These same countries, as mentioned above, also have the highest percentages of their respective female populations out of school. There is a correlation between the successfulness of each country’s female population and their education or, in this case, lack thereof. There are other indirect consequences as well, which cause women to suffer from a societal point of view. For example, according to the Cornell University Library, “Men whose mothers had no formal education are inclined to oppose the notion of granting women equal political rights and equal employment opportunities. Quite the opposite is true of men whose mothers attended a university” (Houissa). In other words, women who have never attended formal schooling are more likely to be stigmatized by society, causing them to be denied jobs, which further enforces the oppressive ideals of a patriarchal society, and prevents women from reaching higher positions or holding influence. Also, uneducated mothers are more likely to refuse education to their daughters without understanding the repercussions which will inevitably come by doing so.
A simple solution to this large problem is International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Per IHL, civilians living in areas plagued by armed conflict are entitled to protection. Governments need to take the current state of girls’ education into consideration and take advantage of IHLs policy of “restrict[ing] the means and methods of warfare” (“What Is IHL”) to keep educational environments a safe place for students. To give some background information, the Geneva Conventions are the four treaties, which, combined, establish IHL. There is a correlation between the countries who are a part of the Geneva Convention and the state of said country’s educational system. The Council on Foreign Relations states that “194 states in total—including the United States” (Beehner) have signed the Geneva Convention treaties and abide by IHL. These countries also have generally better, safer, higher quality education systems than the countries that refuse to abide by IHL and sign the Geneva Convention treaties. “The Conventions and their Protocols Additional, for which we call for universal ratification, are too often violated, whether in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or South Sudan,” (Gueguen) writes the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. The countries which are currently violating the Geneva Convention are also the countries in which girls’ safety is too often breached and they are forced to compromise their education, as a result. By taking the means to implement IHL, I believe governments will have a much easier time progressing their societies in the form of educating the female population.
Overall, education plays a much more critical role in the future of individual families’ socioeconomic status, the progression of industrialization, and the future of our planet than many realize. Because of this, it's essential for governments across the world to hold female and male education to the same standard. Economies, societies, and families cannot grow without helping women grow. Due to the extensive armed conflict influencing the withdrawal of girls, across the world, from school, women are losing their basic right to a good education, which negatively influences their futures and lives in several aspects. Educating girls and simultaneously ensuring their protection is a basic duty of governments and must become a priority. If the current education situation continues, not only this generation of women, but the next will be forced to suffer the same consequences stemming from a lack of educational opportunities from a young age. To enunciate my point once more, the girls who are being denied education mainly for safety concerns, as well as other influencing factors, are entitled to protection by their government to ensure they are able to attend school to receive a formal education.
Mireya Rajendran is a sophomore in high school, who is passionate about world issues, music, and Disney movies. Reading, watching television, writing concerningly terrible poetry, and sleeping are four of her favorite hobbies because they require no effort or energy on her part. Mireya also sings Carnatic music and plays the violin, piano, and ukulele (kind of). She loves Disney movies to the point of no return because, in her opinion, there is simply no such thing as a bad Disney movie. They are beautifully animated, funny, sad, sentimental, nostalgic, and always make her cry. Lastly, she enjoys writing even though the words don’t always come out coherently. She firmly believes grammar errors are excusable.
Comments