GIRL CHILD AND ACCESS TO EDUCATION-
Time and again statistics have shown that girls have often not fared well, not due to their lack of capability, but due to lack of opportunities. The hurdles a girl child faces in order to access education are many. Schools that are too far away for her to reach, lack of basic facilities like drinking water, not having separate toilets for girls or worse still not having toilets at all!
Education is the very foundation for a person’s holistic development. Investing in the girl child’s education is the key to her empowerment. Basic education provides girls and women with an understanding of basic health, nutrition and family planning, giving them choices and the power to decide over their lives. Women's education leads directly to better reproductive health, improved family health, economic growth, for the family, as well as lower rates of child mortality and malnutrition.
World wide by age 18, girls have received an average of 4.4 years less education than boys. And in India
Education for the girl child not only ensures a healthy society but leads to a much better developed future generation. Asmina’s life changed from picking up rags to picking up English from the time she stepped in school - http://www.cry.org/lp/cia/aug11/index-cp.html
For every girl child, there is a way. Together, let us ensure a brighter tomorrow for our girl children – Let’s ensure her access to education.
The girl child has basic rights as entitled to all children. These have been consistently denied to her. Her rights must and can be ensured. Trek Unstoppable (www.cry.org/trekunstoppable) an Expedition to Mount Shitidhar
- Written by Hemant Soreng, Team Unstoppable, who has chosen to create awareness about the girl child and her right to education