The UN Women states that; women make up more than 2/3 of the world's 796 million illiterate. In numbers, 15 million girls compared to 10 million boys worldwide are out of primary school education. And rural women's deficiency in education have long-term implication for family well-being and poverty reduction. As per the UN Women Report, it is crucial to achieve high-quality education for all girls globally, as a result no girl or woman is left behind. Researches supports that every additional schooling year boost a girl's earnings as an adult by up to 20%. In addition to acknowledging the benefits of education for girls and young women which leads to and enhancement in every aspect of life development.
Fast poverty reduction
Better maternal health
Reduced child mortality
Greater HIV prevention
Reduced violence against women
Enhanced economic growth and prosperity
Girls miss an opportunity in technology and innovation steering away from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. This is due to the biased gender stereotypes embedded in the academics and the lack of female STEM role models, led to have a minority representation of women in STEM at 35%. This negatively affects the choices of girls and women when it comes to study in school, their future careers and employment options as adults. As a result, this low representation is compounded by the male-centric, inflexible, and exclusion work environment.
From decades of research by the UN Women, the progress currently taking place will leave us with at least 54 more years to reach universal primary school completion for girls. In addition to this, COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption in education for marginalized girls as well as increasing the adolescent pregnancies threatening girl's education even more. And 5 million children lost their caregiver to COVID-19, this lowered the educational attainment.
In Egypt specifically, the UN Women targets young women and girls to promote education as a catalyst for economic growth and social justice. The main aim is to reduce the gender gap in education and strengthen the quality of education. And to date, the UN Women in Egypt did the following:
Completed 205 infrastructure improvements
Built 4 new community schools
Introduced a new interactive learning technique to 3,990 students
Raised awareness on diversity, accepting others, and child protection to 14,820 students
Enhanced the capacity of 113 teachers and 52 social workers on active learning techniques, behavior management, positive disciplines, gender awareness, gender-based violence, child rights, and child protection
17,000 students learned about gender norms which changed 85% of the students' perceptions
330 women were trained in financial literacy and access to micro-finance, out of which 190 started their own micro-projects
The aim as per the UN SDG Goals is that by 2030 ensure a completely free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education. In addition to having access to early childhood care and development prior to the primary education. As well as, ensuring equal access for women and men to affordable and quality vocational education.
Moreover, upgrading the education facilities that are child, disability, and gender inclusive. As well as, expanding the available scholarships to developing countries (especially the least developed countries).