Female education
Girls' and Women's Right to Education
“Gender equality in education is a basic human right - it is also essential to achieving sustainable development.” - Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
The United States Government has not demonstrated the founding ideals of opportunity and liberty through women’s education. Eradicating gender-based discrimination is a critical measure that needs to be taken towards opportunity and liberty. The amount of educated men have consistently outnumbered the amount of educated women since the early 1900s. The US government needs to confront the fact that education is not a privilege, rather it is a human right for everyone.
Opponents of women’s education believe that women are incompetent and it is unnecessary to educate them, however, proponents believe otherwise. For example, TheirWorld states that “An educated female population increases a country's productivity and fuels economic growth. Some countries lose more than $1 billion a year by failing to educate girls to the same level as boys.” Despite these significant economical losses, many females still aren’t able to go to school. Educating women can help break the poverty cycle by benefiting their families and generally improving their lives. Central Asia Institute said that an educated mother’s children are also more likely to be healthy, and have almost double the chance of living past the age of five. According to Statista, since 1940, the number of men with college degrees has significantly outnumbered the number of women with college degrees. These statistics clearly show that governments have not illustrated the founding ideal of opportunity, as women have not been given an equal chance at success compared to men.
Although the number of educated women has increased, most women still do not have the right to education. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “Everyone has the right to education...It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” However, not everyone seems to agree. Often times, legal, religious, and traditional rules of cultures don’t allow girls to get an education. This restriction contradicts the founding ideal of rights. Any government or society should not determine whether or not a woman is worthy of an education.
In conclusion, the comparison between men and women’s education shows us that educating females is an issue that needs to be addressed. Education is a right for all genders. Gender discrimination still prevails in America, therefore eliminating inequality in education is a priority.