Comprehensive sexuality education raises self-esteem of girls and changes their attitude, says report
Flexi timings, affordable childcare facilities and protection from sexual harassment on the way and within the schools can help millions of adolescent girls in the world to complete their school education, says the latest report of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Other interventions suggested by the UN body to increase girl's enrolment include having schools closer to communities and providing cash transfers to parents of girls in poor households to help cover costs of education and keeping girls in school longer.
Armed with education, millions of girls across the world who are otherwise unable to attend schools due to household responsibilities will be able to triple their lifetime income, states the Status of Women Population report 2016 released at UN Headquarters in New York Friday.
Titled as 10: How our future depends on a girl at this decisive age, the report underlines that investing in girls will result in significant socio-cultural, political and economic dividends for a country and society. This helps women to have higher income and greater productivity which in turn fuel progress for entire countries.
Research has shown that education yields the highest return when it is attained to secondary and tertiary level. For every one year of schooling helps get 10% increase in wages and for women, it's 11.7%, points out the report.
With 12 million 10-year-old girls, India has the largest population share of 20% followed by China which has 12.7%. However, 9% such girls in India are at the risk of not continuing secondary education, says the report.
“The education doesn’t only help girls to acquire skills to eventually work, but also communicate and negotiate in the world, claim their rights, and secure resources for themselves and their future families,” says the report.
“The age of 10 is a critical juncture in a girl's life. In some parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl sees limitless possibilities ahead and begins making choices that will influence her education and later her work and her life. But in other parts of world, at age 10, she may be forced to marry, pulled out of school to begin a lifetime of childbearing and servitude to her husband. She may become a commodity that can be bought and sold,” says Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director UNFPA in the report.
The report strongly recommends a comprehensive sexuality education for all girls at the crucial age of 10. “This will help in raising the self-esteem of girls but also changes their attitude towards social and gender norms of society.”
“No country in the world can yet claim that it delivers all rights and opportunities to which the 10-year-old girl is entitled,” says the report highlighting the gender discrimination across the world.
The report also mentions India’s national adolescent health strategy, Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (initiated in 2014) which gives adolescents as young as 10 have access to peer support, mental and reproductive health services and medical care for survivors of gender-based violence.
Individual income gets more than double with just secondary education
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Country
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If invested in secondary education * Total individual earning in $ 2015-2030
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Non-investment in secondary education *Total individual earning in $ 2015-2030
|
|
India
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9,380
|
4,460
|
|
Bhutan
|
10,590
|
5,000
|
|
Nepal
|
11,800
|
5,600
|
|
Pakistan
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18,700
|
9,000
|
|
Sri Lanka
|
8,800
|
4,200
|
(Source: UNFPA SOWP report 2016,*figures approximate)
Highlights of report
* With 12 million 10-year-old girls, India has the largest population share of 20% globally followed by China which has 12.7%. However, 9% such girls in India are at the risk of not continuing secondary education
* In India, 15-to-19-year-old-girls have reported that while they are likely to save the money they earn, they are less likely than boys to make independent decisions about how that money is spent.
* In India, majority of girls work in home-based work or informal sector. Vocational training is also “gendered” with girls trained for tailoring and boys in skills that have market demands such as computer-related jobs.
* Whether she lives in a developing or developed country, a 10-year-old girl today is more likely than her brother to shoulder the burden of domestic duties and unpaid work needed to keep the household functioning. For many girls, this will be the primary form of labour for their lifetime, making them poorer—for longer—than male counterparts.
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 "United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Girl Child Education,Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram,")
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