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Welcome to SUNS 2008! |
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Committee: UNICEF Topic: Ending gender-based discrimination in education Director: Alberto Jimenez Arreola
1 Committee Background: UNIFEM is a women’s fund at the United Nations that provides financial help and technical assistance to Improve programs and strategies to empower women’s futures. UNIFEM has the task to perform certain activities to enforce this fund: · Reduce women’s poverty · Ending violence against women · Try to stop the spread of the HIV/AIDS Achieving gender equality in all the world This committee was established in 1976, is also known for making women’s voices being heard among the United Nations. This organization today helps girls and women in about 100 countries all around the world. UNIFEM aims for institutions to promote gender equality, women’s rights, and to remove completely discrimination to women in all countries at all times.
2 Description of the topic: In almost all the world the rate of gender inequalities in education are in a very high position. From 800 million people in the world that has no basic education, two thirds are women (520 million). The rate of this alarming number has decreased slowly in first world countries, but developing countries still suffer this problem. Gender inequality is affecting mostly regions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Middle East. To increase economic opportunities of any women their educational level must be higher. There are many factors that keep girls out of going to school, the more important are school materials such as books and uniforms, this because many poor families can't afford them. Indeed, poverty is the most important factor that must be resolved. But poverty is not the only barrier that girls must confront to have an education. Many schools around the world don't accept female students just because of their sex. The lack of female teachers, sexual abuse and the long distances from home to school make many families fear sending their daughters to school. Studies have been made and say that women that had an education get married later, get pregnant later, and have healthy and fewer children, and most of them complete their education. Educated women make a better use of public medical services. The UN estimates that “for every year a woman spends in primary school, the risk of her child dying prematurely is reduced by 8 percent.” To increase the education situation of many girls around the world measures such as public health, economic resources, and the respect of the human rights of women. UNIFEM, united with women’s organizations, support governments and women’s groups to how spend parts of their budget to improve gender based discrimination. These supports have helped many women all around the world. 3 Countries involved Yemen: Has the lowest rate in all the world of girls been educated. This is because of traditions like marrying women at low ages causing them the abandon school. In countries like this families take a great consideration on which caste they are from and meanwhile they reject mixed schools. Negative and conservative attitudes towards girls, the distance from home to school, the lack of female teachers, and the need of books makes the situation of all girls in this country difficult. Sudan: Has suffered a lot of problems since their civil war and their poor economic situation. Girls in Sudan aren’t permitted by their parents to go to school because the great danger they must confront during the long trip to school. Also Sudan's girls are more likely to be wives than students. One study said that of the population that enters to school (7 Million) just 500 girls finish primary school. 90 percent of the women’s population are illiterate. India: Women in India face many forms of gender discrimination. The government has not been equal for all males and females talking about education and this has caused the rate between male and female education and literacy to increase. In the past April 15, India’s women demanded from the government equal education for all women and men and this has made the government to start programs and campaigns. Afghanistan: Many women in Afghanistan suffer of gender discrimination at schools mostly because of factors such as poverty, local traditions and effects of war. The rate of Afghanistan girls at school is less than 23% all around Afghanistan. “These are areas where traditionally girls were never sent to school. The traditional Islamic view meant a very conservative attitude toward female education,” said Habibullah Wajdi (education expert from the World Bank in Kabul). There are parts of Afghanistan such as Kabul in which women can work and have an education and can continue a normal life as anyone else. For the contrary, in the province of Herat, the Taliban’s rules and commands rule over this area and women can’t have any kind of education or job. In South Africa: Girls and women are always under control of men, they are considered low and unimportant. This is one of the main reasons women have poor or even no access to education. Every day girls are exposed to sexual harassments and abuse from boys and teachers around them. Most schools are far away from their homes, and transport is deficient. Walking to school becomes a daily threat for these girls. Saudi Arabia: The education in this country segregates the education between female and male. In 1952 the Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia established a law in which male and female students must be separated even if they had the same grade but also establishes that both sexes must have the same level of education. This hasn’t been followed because the decay of resources in schools for girls has prevented the improvement of education. Egypt: This country has problem in which girls can’t continue their education just because there’s no more space in schools in which almost all space is occupied by male students. Since 2007, UNICEF motivated the government to improve the number of schools.
4 Possible Solutions Many international organizations are working to improve the income of poor people. By building infrastructure and providing aid, vocational training, and education programs, they give families resources to create healthy and stable lives. That takes the weight of every day survival off young women and gives them the time to get a full education. With practical help and encouragement, girls are more likely to stay in school. UNICEF is encouraging all international organizations to come up with strategies for girls' education as part of their initial development plans. It has also started a movement to monitor school materials, facilities, and teachers to ensure that girls get a quality education that promotes non-discrimination, and that female students are given the same privileges as male students. All UNICEF and other organizations are needed to be the resources to support this hard work. To change the lives of women around the world, all governments must increase the concern about girls in the developing world today. Children In Need is an example of a Non-Governmental-Organization that offers volunteer opportunities to people who want to help raise awareness of the issues that impact children. The need is clear, and though the obstacles to ending gender discrimination are high, they are not impossible.
5 Conclusion In order to improve the situation of girls at their education society must change their view of seeing woman as inferior and as weak. If the education of girls is increased the future will be a place in which males and females can interact without conflicts. In order to succeed and lower the incredible amount of 52 million women that don’t have any education, society must act positively. Create new jobs and school opportunities so all girls around the world can live in a society without discrimination. Girls are the same as any others and have the same rights as all. Gender equality is the key to a peaceful future.
http://www.globalcrisis.info/womened.html http://www.childreninneed.org/magazine/gender.html http://www.unifem.org/about/fact_sheets.php?StoryID=299 http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200606/15/eng20060615_274277.html http://www.ausaid.gov.au/keyaid/gender.cfm http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/ http://www.unicef.org/sowc04/sowc04_16165.html http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/English_Version_B.pdf http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18157&Cr=MDGs&Cr1= http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28413&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/files/SOWC06_Table5.pdf |
