Every girl has a right to education: Plan

By Rashika Fazali

Last year on December 19, the United Nations (UN) declared 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child due to the ongoing struggles girls around the world face.

To mark the first-ever International Day of the Girl child, Plan International went global with its campaign ‘Because I Am A girl’ (BIAAG), that aims to help four million girls advocate and recognise their rights to education and gain skills which in return will help them move away from poverty.

They also launched the BIAAG Global Report and Plan publication called ‘Because I Am A Girl – The State of the World’s Girls 2012’ worldwide at this event. Months before the event, Plan held an art competition on children’s aspirations and these sketches were also handed over to the guests.

Plan International, famously known for committing to help children worldwide, celebrated 75 years this year, while Plan Sri Lanka celebrated 30 years of work here.

Education is important regardless of gender but the world looks at education for girls in a disapproving manner. Most people believe education is for boys. Yet, if the world does educate girls, it can only result in them getting married and having children later in life, and they also become an additional financial support to the family. However, because they are girls, education is not looked as a priority for them. This is what the BIAAG campaign intends to change as they believe every child has a right to education.

“We want to bring your attention to the challenges faced by girls,” stated Plan Sri Lanka Country Director Edward T. Epsey. “We hope to raise funds and help these girls gain their rights.”

The BIAAG campaign has been initiated in 68 countries, out of which 19 countries are fundraisers. Canada is one of the biggest fundraising countries for this campaign. According to Epsey, “In South East Asia, Sri Lanka is the only country which is most likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”

Why girls?

“One in three girls is denied education globally. However, we have encountered two issues – one with regard to increasing participation of girls and the other is how we are to give them a protecting environment,” reasoned Plan Sri Lanka Communications Manager and BIAAG Focal Point Manu Gunasekara on why the focus of the campaign is on girls.

She added: “If you provide girls with education, she is less likely to experience violence or marry and have children whilst she is still a child. She is more likely to be literate, healthy, and survive into adulthood, as are her children. She is more likely to reinvest her income in her family, community, and country, and she is more likely to understand her rights and be a force for change.”

Development Advocate and Advisor to Governments on Educational Developments and Opportunities Dr. Upali Sedere mentioned the number of girls who dropped out of school worldwide. By 2010, 61 million girls and 45 million boys had dropped out of school. Today, the 61 million mark for girls has dropped down to 36 million while the 45 million mark for boys has dropped down to 31 million.

In Sri Lanka, 1,700 girls have dropped out of school before Grade 5, while 12,700 girls have dropped out of school before Grade 10. He noted that this came as quite a shock especially in a country like Sri Lanka where welfare is strong, as uniforms, school books, etc., are given free.

Gunasekara outlined reasons why girls were deprived of education. One is early marriage that happens due to the main factor poverty, and other factors like gender inequality, traditions, and religious norms. Children are often married early due to parents not having enough money to support the family or their education. The majority of the girls are forced into marriage and once married education become history.

The Plan website states: “10 million girls under the age of 18 marry each year, many as young as eight. In developing countries, one in every three girls marries before they are 18.” However, Gunasekara added: “In Sri Lanka, getting married younger is more likely seen in rural areas than urban areas.”

Many parents believe that a girl’s role is a domestic one – they belong at home attending to womanly affairs. However this is not so and Plan aims to prove that they have a much larger role to play. Another reason for stopping education is due to the increase in violence and sexual abuse girls endure in schools. The Plan website states that 150 million girls under 18 have experienced rape or other forms of sexual violence.

Furthermore, Gunasekara mentioned that girls who receive concrete education are more likely to achieve better grades than boys. However, when it comes to skill-based occupations, boys are most likely to take the cake.

When it comes to the manufacturing trade, girls do not have much luck either. Gunasekara questioned: “Do girls have the capability to become leaders, to be promoted to a higher position? Most of the time men reach the higher position.” She added: “We are losing the capabilities of a girl because we don’t let her demonstrate her capabilities and this is exactly why we started the BIAAG campaign.”

An international day for the girl child

Why does the UN want to recognise a day for the girl child? Gunasekara stated that girls have been openly mentioned in annual themes only three times on International Women’s Day in the past 100 years. Although there is recognition for children and women with international days for both, there is no recognition given for girls who have to tackle endless challenges because they are girls.

Gunasekara mentioned that challenges faced by women and girls are different just like their needs and this has not been addressed. So by having a specific day for girls will highlight and recognise the needs and rights of girls.

For the first International Day of Girl Child celebrated worldwide, initiatives were taken to cover the world in pink. Some of the famous iconic monuments in the world such as the Niagara Falls, Pyramids in Egypt, London Eye and Finland Hall went pink.

Government action plan

The Government will also play a role in helping the girl child. “We have our own problems when it comes to the girl child,” said Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs Secretary Eric Illyepparachchi. “We have traditional ways of looking at a girl child when it comes to literacy, education, and health. But there is a difference between a rural girl child and the urban girl child. This comes in regard to poverty levels.”

Illyepparachchi added: “Thus it becomes a moral obligation in the future – to invest in the girl’s disparities. We need to fill the gaps between the rural and urban child. As the Government, we know about the issues and the institutional weakness and we hope to strengthen our institution framework. With an International Day of the Girl Child, we have to go with political changes, and come up with new legislation and terms of references for officers.” He added that 750 officers have been attached to this field for the protection of child and woman rights.

Illyepparachchi also stated that due to the fact that we live in a Middle Income country, the main challenge will be in preparing girl children especially in line with the traditions and the customs of the country.

Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs Deputy Minister and Chief Guest M. L. A. M. Hizbullah speaking at the launch said: “In Sri Lanka, the educational system shows 95 per cent enrolment rates in primary and secondary schools. Healthcare is available to 98 per cent of Sri Lanka with medical facilities and 95 per cent vaccination coverage for children.”

Speaking with regard to female participation, he said: “In Sri Lanka in contrast to the higher women participation in education, their shares in labour force participation has been low. Relatively low rates of female labour force participation indicate that female participation in education may not necessarily translate in to access to economic resources. Anyhow, the Government is working on enhancing economic empowerment of women by strengthening of self-sustained and economic development.”

Indicating what this year’s theme should be, Hizbullah mentioned that it should be early marriages. “It is very threatening and shocking to perceive the increase of child marriages in the next decade as it would be shot up to even 150 million.” He added: “In some countries of the African Continent, the ratio of child marriage is in between 65 to 75 per cent, while others in others it would be between 45 to 65 per cent.”

Sadali Upeksha’s aspirations

The only way anyone would believe the challenges girls around the world goes through is by having a girl talk about it. 21-year-old Sadali Upeksha girl from Panwila, Kandy, spoke at this launch on the struggles she goes through on a daily basis just because she is a girl. She lost her father when she was only 15 years old.

“After I lost my father, my sister, my mother, and I had to face a lot of problems. There was no man in the family and it became terribly hard. We lost our lands and ended up living at a relative’s place,” said Upeksha.  

She stressed that sometimes she would come past six after school and as a girl she needs protection so that she can freely walk on the roads of Kandy. “Parents are reluctant to send kids to big cities as they have to stay away from their parents. My mum did not want me to go either after I got good marks at my O/L exams.”

She hopes to be professionally qualified in management and one day aspires to be in top management. Upeksha added: “For me to be successful in life, my environment should be good.”  

Status of women in Sri Lanka

Sedere acknowledged that Sri Lanka was able to produce the first female Prime Minister in the world in 1960, the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike. In 1994, Sri Lanka witnessed the appointment of Chandrika Bandaranaike as the first female President of the country.

In the Sri Lankan Government, nine out of 56 secretaries in the central government ministries are female. However, the female percentage has never exceeded five per cent in Parliament and 3.5 per cent in local assemblies. The Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) in the last decade saw a higher rate of females than men.

Looking at the statistics from 2009 on the women-men ratio in the work field, Sedere mentioned that out of the 40 most valuable brands of Sri Lanka, there was only one woman CEO in the senior management. However, 34 out of 50 companies have no women on their boards. Eighty per cent of teachers are females; while 60 per cent of the unemployed and underemployed are women.

Abuse to girls also happens in Sri Lanka. Sedera noted that statistics show that eight per cent of girls are abused, out of which 36 per cent of them are abused by a member of the family or extended family.

How does Plan Sri Lanka intend to help?

Plan has come up with its third Country Strategic Plan (CSP) that will consist of intensive and extensive research on the status of children in Sri Lanka from the period 2012 to 2016.

Plan Sri Lanka Assistant Deputy Country Director for Programs Subodhini Dissanayake explained the five keys areas which are rooted in the rights of a child: Children’s health, education, protecting environment, household economic security, and protection and assistance in emergencies.

Under children’s health, Plan will address the health issues of a child. This area aims to work on enhancing the knowledge of family and health staff to make them aware of the development process in a child. Under education, they aim to promote the need of education for the child’s development process. Plan will look into children between the ages three to 14 and ensure that they get quality basic education and childhood care.

To create a protective environment for children, Plan will focus on promoting community-based systems and structures to address gaps in education. They will find means to protect children from forms of violence and discrimination.

Under household economic security, Plan will focus on increasing the access and availability on financial resources for families and most importantly women. It will target women’s economic empowerment by giving them control of the household cash flow management and access to financial management. In the final area, Plan will help families adopt and cope with climate changes and disasters.  

To find out more about the CSP for Sri Lanka and the BIAAG campaign log on to Plangirls.org.

Pix by Krishan Ranasinghe