Why girls' education matters
The potential benefits of educating girls are enormous. Whole communities become less and less vulnerable to many of the factors which have kept them locked in poverty, and a virtuous circle can be established:
- Fewer children die, because educated women are more likely to seek medical care, and immunise their children
- Fewer children go hungry or malnourished, because educated women better understand about good nutrition
- Fewer mothers die in child birth because educated women are more likely to visit a doctor
- Educated women are less likely to become pregnant very young, reducing associated health risks and the additional burden that this places on girls and their families
- Women’s vulnerability to HIV drops
- Women’s earnings increase and they gain more power in the workplace
- The likelihood that girls will send their own children to school soars.
Put simply, educating girls is fundamental to overcoming poverty and promoting equality between men and women.
