In this week’s SoroptiVoice blog, New York UN Rep Paulette Forbes-Igharo reports from an event for International
Day of the Girl Child, looking at barriers to girls’ education and how they can be overcome. She explores ways that Soroptimist clubs can contribute, particularly in promoting and supporting technical education for girls.

On October 11, 2013 UNICEF observed the Second International Day of
the Girl Child at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. October 11 has been designated by the
UN in honor of the girl child “— to recognize girls’ rights and the unique
challenges girls face around the world.”

The theme this year was
Innovate 2 Educate. The overarching
message was that girls are at a disadvantage
educationally from all perspectives, and that for many girls, all over the
world, going to school cannot be taken for granted. It was emphasized that conscious
efforts must be made to change this situation globally. On
this day, UNICEF provided a grand platform to highlight the need for continued
focus on girls’ education. Presentations
featured innovative, creative and sustainable approaches to counteract the
challenges that hinder girls’ education.

The challenges include the unavailability of resources, poor quality
schools, low aspiration, lack of infrastructure, as well as cultural
practices. Some of the specific
solutions that were presented included the following.

• Start investing in the education
  of girls at an early age.
• Provide simple
  solutions such as a bicycle to enable a girl to have post-secondary education.
• Be aware that education comes in different
  forms – formal, non-formal or informal.
• Use
  technology such as mobile phones, and develop the necessary resources.
• Sustainable
  Health Enterprises (SHE) developed sanitary pads from refined banana bark. Production of these pads commercially is now
  being pursued. This was done to address
  the issue of days girls losing too many from school during their menstrual
  period.

But, innovation is not restricted to tangible
products. It includes the use of
technology, skills to get and create jobs, new partnerships and using money and
resources differently. In South Sudan
where, there is only 12 km of paved roads, crank radios were used as the medium
for providing education because many communities have radios. And, SMS Global Health Certificate Lead and
Columbia University, in collaboration with the ministry of education in some
countries, developed country specific books to impact the curriculum.

The message that “Girls Who Code” delivered is that we
must not be afraid to train girls in technology because they are just as
capable in learning these skills as men. They have pursued projects through public/private
partnerships. They started in New York
City and have spread across the USA.
These girls, 16 years and above, successfully learned how to build apps
and web sites. To demonstrate that the
shortcoming in girl’s education is global, Ms. Saujani noted that in the USA
there are large numbers of girls who do not know to use a mouse. She stressed that people aspire to do things
when they see others who look like them doing such things; therefore, girls
need examples.

During this event, it was repeatedly stated that there are 66
million girls without education and that girls’ education needs to be given
special attention. Education gives
people hope, power and self-confidence.
All of us working together can help to transform girls’ future. Furthermore,
we must realize that we can’t have a progressive world with only men or women
succeeding. We all must walk hand in
hand.

The program culminated with all the attendees going outside to the
UNICEF Plaza to a black and white fresco that depicted women working at manual
labor. Each one was given an eraser and
invited to participate in erasing the picture.

Erasing the picture physically was difficult. Then, just imagine how
hard it is to remove this picture mentally.
We may not be able to eliminate that picture immediately. But, with time and effort the picture can
change.

SI can contribute to this campaign by staying focused on its mission
of improving the lives of girls through advocacy, action and awareness using, innovative
means to improve girls’ education. This is especially important in the areas of
technical education, as this is the wave of the future. Individual clubs or groups through their
districts or regions, or in partnerships with other organizations should ensure
that education projects are always included in their portfolios. It is not important for technical project to
be high tech. In fact, innovative low-tech
projects may reach larger numbers.

Video clip: Plan International’s giant eraseable fresco displaying the plight of girls being forced to work in a
factory instead of going to school.