30/23 Human Rights Council panel discussion on the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Human Rights Council Thirtieth session Agenda items 2 and 3

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Human Rights Council panel discussion on the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl

Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights

I. Introduction

1. In its resolution 27/6, the Human Rights Council decided to convene, at its twenty-

ninth session, a panel discussion on realizing the equal enjoyment of the right to education

by every girl with a view to sharing lessons learned and best practices in that regard. Also

in resolution 27/6, the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights to organize the panel and to liaise with States, relevant United Nations

agencies, funds and programmes, relevant special procedures, civil society, including

relevant children’s and youth organizations, national human rights institutions and other

relevant stakeholders with a view to ensuring their participation in and contribution to the

panel discussion. Pursuant to that request, the panel discussion was held on 16 June 2015.

2. In its resolution 27/6, the Human Rights Council also requested the High

Commissioner to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion and to present it to the

Human Rights Council at its thirtieth session. The present report was prepared pursuant to

that request.

3. The High Commissioner opened the panel discussion, which was moderated by the

Associate Director of Programme Partnerships (Division of Programmes) at the United

Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The panellists were Minister of State of the United

Arab Emirates Reem Al Hashimy; the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the

Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Chairperson of its working group on

girls’ and women’s right to education, Barbara Bailey; the Special Rapporteur on the right

to education, Kishore Singh; UNICEF Ethiopia Goodwill Ambassador Hannah Godefa; and

the Regional Director for the West African Region of Plan International, Adama Coulibaly.

II. Summary of the discussion

A. Statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

4. In his opening remarks, the High Commissioner stated that the empowerment of

women had been one of the most significant achievements of the past century, and access to

education one of the key elements in overturning the outdated view of women as confined

to the domestic sphere. He stressed that education was a multiplier right that empowers

women to make choices and to claim their human rights, including the right to participate

fully in the taking of decisions that shape society. He welcomed the considerable progress

that had been made in girls’ education in recent years.

5. Nonetheless, almost one third of all countries had not achieved parity in primary

education. and in less than half, there were as many girls as boys in lower-secondary

grades. Despite the progress made, discrimination against girls persisted, including in the

form of child marriage, early pregnancy and sexual violence, and harassment inside and

outside schools. Together with social and cultural stereotypes that enforce obedience and

fixed gender constructs, violence against girls and the targeting of schools by extremist

movements continued to impair girls’ access to education.

6. The High Commissioner also noted that, as a result of deeply entrenched

discrimination, girls continued to be corralled into specific fields of study, which were often

not those in high demand on the labour market. Young women, even when well-educated,

consistently experienced higher unemployment rates than men, worked in more precarious

jobs and were paid less for work of equal value. Enabling women and girls to obtain

qualifications, but subsequently denying them the right to pursue their aspirations in full

equality with men, did a disservice to young women and was a waste of many talents.

7. The High Commissioner emphasized that the culture of discrimination deeply

entrenched in many societies should be challenged so as to allow women and girls to

achieve their full potential and to deploy the skills that they have learned. He recalled the

key role that education could play in dismantling persistent gender stereotypes that may

have a profound impact on girls’ health, self-confidence, vulnerability to violence and their

enjoyment of every other human right. Pointing out that Girls’ education was imperative in

achieving the new agenda for development, the High Commissioner called upon States to

take urgent measures to ensure that all girls had effective and safe access to education of

quality, including human rights education.

B. Overview of presentations by the panellists

8. The panel moderator recalled that the right to education had been acknowledged as a

multiplier right and stressed that, in spite of the remarkable progress made in increasing

enrolment, gaps remained, particularly in the area of ensuring education for girls from

disadvantaged backgrounds and in emergency situations.

9. Ms. Al Hashimy pointed out that States would be unable to meet current

development goals and targets if they failed to empower women. She referred to some of

the challenges that the United Arab Emirates had faced in achieving its Millennium

Development Goal on education, including the low level of development and absence of

governance and institutions. These challenges also presented opportunities for building an

education system based on the principle of gender equality funded by the State’s income

deriving from natural resources. Robust legal frameworks had been adopted, including

compulsory, free-of-charge primary education and the establishment of 18 years as the

minimum age for marriage. The State’s robust formal school system reflected the principle

of gender equality: 90 per cent of girls and 87 per cent of boys were enrolled in primary

education, while 95 per cent of girls and 80 per cent of boys who graduated from high

school entered higher education. In addition, women in the United Arab Emirates

constituted 70 per cent of college graduates, one of the highest proportions in the world.

She emphasized that any State that prioritized education in its budget and built an

educational system founded on the principles of gender equality and the rights of the child

would obtain positive results.

10. Ms. Bailey outlined various ways in which structural and ideological factors

hindered access to education for girls. She referred in particular to entrenched sociocultural

norms and stereotypes, which dictated gender relations in the family, including the

allocation of resources within the family and determing what a given generation considered

appropriate gender roles. This often resulted in gender inequalities, including in the area of

access to schooling and participation in the formal work force, with women being

disadvantaged. She referred to the incidence of early and forced marriages and adolescent

pregnancy, and the marked preference for boys as examples that exacerbated the continued

subordination of females in the private and public domains. To address this challenge,

women had to have the right to exercise personal autonomy and greater control over their

sexual and reproductive health and rights. In addition, in order for women to become

economically independent and less reliant on male patronage, they had to be able to move

out of the private sphere into paid decent work in the formal labour market. Women had to

be able to participate more fully in political processes and decision-making at all levels.

11. Mr. Singh welcomed the recognition of the right to education as a multiplier right,

and stressed that making it a true right required entitlement and empowerment. He

described inclusive, non-discriminatory education as a core element of the right to

education. He also stressed the need for quality, human rights-based education in all areas –

knowledge, values, competence and skills – as well as the importance of focusing on the

contents of education. He recalled that States had an obligation to translate their

international obligations into national policies, and emphasized the need for an adequate

legal framework as the foundation for the equal right to education. In the area of education,

this obligation included temporary special measures and ensuring gender parity and access

to education by marginalized communities, including rural communities. Mr. Singh further

explained the need for developing strategies that linked literacy programmes and skills

development, and expressed concern about the mushrooming of privatization of education,

which disadvantaged women.

12. Ms. Godefa focused her intervention on the role of young people, including girls, in

the development of education policies. She stated that Governments could ensure that all

girls had access to education by making it a State priority and by working with youth

groups to give them a voice in education policies. The barriers to girls’ access to education

could be both direct and indirect, including, for example, trafficking. To ensure that girls

were able to enjoy the right to education on an equal footing with boys, she recommended

that States provide stipends and scholarships, and free or subsidized child care for girls with

children, as well as income transfer programmes for poor families, so that girls were not

removed from schools for economic reasons. She also recommended that schools be

constructed locally and closer to communities as a means to increase enrolment and to

lower the indirect costs of sending girls to school. She also stressed the importance of

awareness-raising by youth groups and States in the domestic and global spheres.

13. Mr. Coulibaly recounted the story of his sister to highlight the multiple barriers to

girls’ education, which included the cost of education, the distance to schools, violence in

and around schools, harmful gender norms, child marriage and early pregnancy. Such

barriers became insurmountable during emergencies and in conflict situations, and were

particularly acute for marginalized and excluded populations, particularly girls with

disabilities and those belonging to minority groups. He pointed out that emergencies often

led to disruptions in education after which many children never returned to school, while

those who stayed received poor quality education as a result of an unsafe and inadequate

learning environment. For girls, even a short interruption caused by an emergency situation

could lead not only to missing out on education but also expose them to the risk of child

marriage, trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence. Emergencies could

nonetheless offer the opportunity to rebuild more a resilient community or to change norms

and behaviours that hindered girls’ education.

C. Interventions by representatives of States Members of the Human

Rights Council, observer States and other observers

14. In their interventions, States emphasized the importance that they placed on

guaranteeing girls’ equal access to education and described specific programmes and

policies to overcome obstacles and challenges in this regard. A number of representatives

referred to good practices at the national level, including enshrining the right to education

in the Constitution and enacting specific laws to guarantee free primary and secondary

education. States also referred to measures taken to reduce the distance between schools

and homes, investments in infrastructure and special measures such as scholarships, school

uniforms and the removal of other education-related costs for children from marginalized

communities. A number of States pointed out that women often achieved less in their

careers and in the labour market owing to deeply rooted stereotypes in public

consciousness, while several expressed their concern about gender stereotypes, including in

fields of study reserved for girls.

15. Several speakers expressed their concern that gender parity had not been achieved in

education owing to, inter alia, gender and ideological stereotypes, violence and

discrimination against girls both in and around schools, harmful practices such as female

genital mutilation and child, early and forced child marriage, the militarization of school

premises in situations of conflict, attacks against schools, and threats to the security and

safety of female students. A number of speakers referred to the Safe Schools Declaration,

which focuses on education for children in conflict situations, signed to date by 47 States.

16. Several speakers highlighted the importance of a continued focus on education in the

post-2015 development framework as a means to ensure gender equality and the

empowerment of women and girls. Speakers referred to the need for good practices in the

areas of comprehensive sexuality education, education for girls in conflict settings,

addressing gender-based violence in and around schools, and the contents of education and

its role in gender stereotypes. Participants urged the Human Rights Council to prioritize

school-related gender-based violence in its agenda. Several States referred to the

importance of international cooperation to make schools safer, to empower women and to

obtain the necessary budgetary resources.

III. Concluding remarks by the panellists

17. The panellists highlighted the importance of adopting and enforcing legislation

and other polices on education in accordance with international human rights

standards and on the basis of the principle of the best interests of the child.

18. It was agreed that the provision of such basic services as separate sanitation

facilities and hygiene kits had enormous benefits in the enrolment and retention of

girls in schools. In addition, including comprehensive sexuality education in school

curricula was highlighted as a key action to help girls to avoid early pregnancy and in

order to address harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child, early

and forced marriage.

19. The panellists recommended that quality primary education should be

compulsory and free, and highlighted the importance of the transition to secondary

education. They referred to the importance of measures to prevent child and forced

marriages, including of setting the minimum legal age for marriage at 18. Appropriate

institutional frameworks that prioritized education in budgetary allocations,

supported early childhood education, provided a safe and supportive environment in

schools and integrated a gender perspective into education policies were also

highlighted as necessary. They also stressed that education should be non-

discriminatory, inclusive and culturally sensitive, and that education policies should

incorporate the voices of children and young people, including marginalized and

disadvantaged girls, such as girls with disabilities, and rural and poor girls, and

harness the power of social media as a means of changing education policies and

encouraging girls to stay in school.

20. The panellists also noted that education outcomes for girls were closely linked

to the division of labour between the sexes, gender stereotypes and gender-based

discrimination, violence and abuse, and that many women and girls were therefore

unable to enjoy the multiplier effect of education. Most current education systems, it

was noted, failed to live up to their potential as catalysts for equality between men and

women, but rather strengthened the existing gender order and helped to maintain

hierarchies within schools and in the wider community. It was therefore important to

review the content of education so as to remove all discriminatory elements.

21. In Ethiopia, girl clubs, in which girls at the local level were involved in

mitigating school- and community-based barriers to education by liaising with school

management and parents to advocate for changes such as separate sanitation facilities,

were cited a good practice. In the area of social media, in South Africa, the UNICEF

Techno Girl programme, which connects more than 10,000 adolescent girls in

underprivileged schools with mentors from the technological sector in order to boost

their skills and job readiness, was also cited as a good practice. States were invited to

heed the concluding recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women and to note the Committee’s upcoming general

recommendation on addressing obligations in all dimensions of the right to education.

22. With regard to disasters and emergency settings, the panellists concurred that

even the worst situations could offer opportunities to strengthen communities and

make them more resilient and more inclusive and equal. In addition, good education

in emergencies could bring both short-term protective and long-term transformative

change. For example, the Plan International programmes for internally displaced

persons and refugees in Mali and South Sudan had allowed many girls to attend

formal and non-formal education, often for the first time. As a result, not only did

more girls have access to education but were also better prepared to participate in

decision-making, which had in turn led to a gradual change in community attitudes.

The panellists encouraged States to take preventive measures to minimize disruptions

to education during disasters, to have education sector plans based on gender-sensitive

and participatory approaches in all phases of emergency responses, and to establish a

funding mechanism for education in emergencies. They also recommended that States

pay greater attention to the human rights of children in emergencies, including girls’

right to education, and include related issues in their engagement with the United

Nations human rights system, including the treaty bodies, the universal periodic

review and the special procedures.

23. The panellists also emphasized underlined that, in order to implement fully the

equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl, States had to remove

structural barriers to education, such as gender bias and stereotypes from curricula

and teaching and learning materials, and ensure girls’ safety in schools, including

through the provision of adequate sanitary facilities and safe drinking water, as well

as protection from sexual harassment, abuse and violence in the school environment.

They should in addition ensure the justiciability of the right to education. The

panellists encouraged States collectively to make the vision of every girl enjoying full

access to education a reality.