KABUL, 11 October 2013 -The International Day of the Girl Child is being celebrated globally today with a special focus on innovation around girls' education. In Afghanistan, more girls are now entering school than ever before, thanks to significant progress that has been made in the past decade. Improved quality of teaching, availability of more trained female teachers and construction of child friendly schools has resulted in a dramatic increase in enrolment of students, especially girls. In 2001, only one million children were in school and nearly all of those were boys, now, over 8 million children are enrolled in school and nearly 38 per cent of these are girls.
Learning is a basic right of all children; nonetheless, 3.5 million school-age children are still out of school, of which nearly 61% are girls. This calls for more work.
There is overwhelming evidence that secondary education in particular can be a powerful transformative force, not just for girls themselves but for entire societies. Girls' education is the one consistent factor that can positively influence not only the lives of girls themselves, but practically every desired development outcome: from reducing child and maternal mortality, to ending poverty and achieving equitable growth, and changing social norms. The transformative potential of girls' education is yet to be realised. Too many girls in Afghanistan are still unable to attend school and complete their education due to safety-related, financial, institutional and cultural barriers. Child marriage, in particular, presents a persistent challenge to many girls' human rights, including their right to education. In Afghanistan 15 per cent of girls are married before their 15th birthday.
United Nations agencies, have selected Innovating for Girls' Education as this year's theme, in recognition of the importance of fresh and creative perspectives to propel girls' education.
Raising awareness on the importance of the girls' education, mobilising communities to protect girls' schools, establishing more community based schools and child friendly schools are examples of solutions which lead to the achievement of demonstrable results for improving girls' education. Innovative practices such as community based schools and Accelerated Learning Centers have resulted in more girls having access to educational facilities in Afghanistan.
The International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated on 11 October, a day designated by the United Nations for promoting the rights of girls, and addressing the unique challenges they face. The International Day of the Girl Child 2013 will provide a platform to highlight examples of on-going work and achievements, as well as raise awareness on the importance of innovation, in order to get all girls in school and learning.
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