#WeTheWomen

Invest in Education and Empower Women and Girls to Lead - Seite 2

We must do so now. Today, 129 million girls around the world are missing out on school. For girls on the frontlines of armed conflicts, climate change, forced displacement and other protracted crises, the challenges are the most severe. Without an education, crisis-affected girls face increased risks of child marriage, human trafficking, slavery, economic marginalization, forced and unpaid labour, as well as stifling dependency on men and patriarchal systems. This kind of dependency is not only a violation of their rights as human beings, but also unhealthy and economically untenable for any society wishing to advance.

Yet, in the face of adversity, there is hope.

On my recent mission to Nigeria, I met with girls and young women who had been abducted by Boko Haram and splinter groups. Despite the horrifying experiences they endured, they were able to heal through a holistic education, including mental health and psychosocial services, and reclaim their power. Stronger than ever, they now empower other young girls by serving as inspiring role models of resilience and determination.

With support from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and our global strategic partners, they empower girls who have escaped from Boko Haram. While some are learning valuable trades in vocational schools, others study to become teachers, lawyers, doctors, scientists and entrepreneurs. The have gone through a very dark era in their young life, but darkness no longer owns them. They own their lives and are captains of their destiny.

Working through a coordinated joint programme with UNICEF, NRC and Save the Children, ECW provides access to both formal and non-formal education in North-East Nigeria. An innovative new investment with the Global Survivors Fund also supports education as a form a reparation for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the region. It's a first, vital and highly successful educational approach, as they find their identity and prepare for their lives ahead.

In Afghanistan, an entire generation of girls continue to be denied access to quality education, and an entire generation of women are being denied many of their basic human rights. A country that has suffered so much for so long, Afghanistan needs its girls and women to be educated to rebuild this war-torn nation. For this reason, we continue to advocate for equal rights for all girls and young women in Afghanistan – especially the right to a quality education through our global #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign. And, through local partners, we continue to enrol girls into community-based learning programmes.