To mark International Women’s Day, the Commonwealth Secretariat will hold a panel discussion in London on 8 March under the theme, 'Sustained education of women and girls for their economic and political empowerment'.
At last year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta, leaders stressed that national prosperity cannot be achieved unless women and girls are able to participate effectively in all levels of society. They recognised education as fundamental to achieving gender parity.
To mark this year’s International Women’s Day, the Commonwealth Secretariat will hold a panel discussion in London on 8 March under the theme, Sustained education of women and girls for their economic and political empowerment. ‘Planet 50 50 by 2030: Step it up for Gender Equality’ is this year’s international theme.
The panel comprises a number of experts in the areas of health, gender and development and human rights, such as Rashida Manjoo, a Professor in the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town. Discussions will focus on unravelling barriers to achieving parity in education and will explore opportunities to get more women into leadership and decision-making positions.
“An end to global inequality in education would bring a brighter future for our children. Girls’ education is both an intrinsic right and a critical lever to reaching all the Sustainable Development Goals. Providing girls with quality education helps break the cycle of poverty and create a ripple effect of opportunity that influences generations to come,” said Amelia Kinahoi-Siamomua, Head of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Gender Section.
Under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG5 focuses on ‘gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’. There are nine targets that aim to end all forms of discrimination against women, including violence against women and girls amongst others. Depriving girls of quality education will not support the achievement of these SDGs.
According to the World Bank, although school enrolment rates for girls have risen, 32 million girls of lower secondary school age in developing countries are not in school, and only 13% of the poorest rural adolescent girls complete lower secondary school in South and West Asia.
The Secretariat joins other development partners in recognising that greater efforts need to be made to prevent girls in school from dropping out because of sexual harassment, pregnancy, child, early and forced marriage, inadequate sanitation and unequal division of chores in the home.
“The importance of girls remaining in school and being able to pursue tertiary level education is essential for women to be equipped with the necessary skills to take on decision-making and leadership roles and effectively contribute to sustainable development. To deny this represents a violation of human rights and the loss of a huge contribution to society,” added Ms Kinahoi-Siamomua.
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A women’s leadership advocacy forum organised by the Secretariat in June 2015 explored pipelines for women into leadership roles and highlighted the importance of providing education for young women in subjects and skills that enable them to take up executive-level positions. The Secretariat continues to work in this area to promote women’s leadership in the public and private sectors.
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