Educating a girl is a right, not a privilege.

tunisienneambitieuse
Feb 4, 2018
3 min read

I’m going to make a very simple claim:

I am so optimistic that in recent years this issue has finally come into the international spotlight; celebrities are tweeting about it, major corporations are funding it, books about girls’ education have become bestsellers, government, civil societies are making tremendous efforts.

Yet

When you know that more than 62 million girls continue to be denied access to an education and that in some countries like Yemen, fewer than 10% of girls complete secondary school, you understand that despite progress women continue to face multiple barriers in the equal enjoyment of the right to education.

The reason is crystal clear:

Some communities still discriminate against the education of girls. They believe that the proper sphere for a girl is home. They believe that the money they spend on girls’ education is wasted. They believe that girls are destined to the university of kitchen rather than a proper education. These societies cling to outdated traditions that oppress and exclude girls. There are even communities that consider education as a way to ruin these girls, strip them out of their traditions, their religions and their identity. Basically, education will corrupt them.

That’s completely unreasonable and even ridiculous

Every child in this planet deserves the chance to fulfill his/her boundless potentials. They are all entitled to the right to education. Education is not just a universal right; it’s a matter of justice. It’s the key to unlock the golden door of justice.

Let me make another simple claim:

Girls’ education is more profitable than oil

And I do mean this in the very literal sense of the word “profitable” and I do not mean this metaphorically speaking. A nation whose women are educated has greater chance of escaping poverty, leading a healthier and a more productive life and raising the standard of living for its children, because once women are educated, they can join the workforce, which means that education is a better investment than forcing girls into early marriage or consigning them to household labor.

I strongly believe that no country or industry can reach its full potential until women reach their full potential.

Moreover, educating a girl is a way to fight against fundamentalism. Let’s go back to 2012, when Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head, when in Nigeria more than 200 girls were kidnapped from their school dormitory, when in some other countries like Afghanistan, girls were sexually assaulted or doused with acid on their way to school.

These girls with their courage and determination have shown that what a terrorist fear most is:

A girl with a book

I know that most of you consider girls’ education as an outdated topic, because we took for granted here that every Tunisian girl has the right to go to school.

90% of women in Tunisia between the age of 15 and 25 are literate.
More than 60% of Tunisian students enrolled in higher education are girls.
When it comes to good achievements, most of outstanding students in Tunisia are girls (according to statistics)

However

You have to be sure that our rights are always threatened, if the right of one girl in this planet is threatened. That’s why, we all have to contribute in defending these cultural norms and practices that devalue women, that silence their voices, that limit their ambitions. We need to condemn these kinds of discrimination. We have to give these girls wings instead of clipping their wings.