Whether on Twitter, online, in the news, you may have heard the term “ shadow pandemic”, to describe the growing rates of violence against women and girls amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a narrative that has been taken up by development actors around the world — from international agencies to
On International Literacy Day, we celebrate the launch of a new policy brief series - In Solidarity With Girls: Gender and Education in Crisis - produced by the young women activists who led a series of intergenerational dialogues earlier this year. This publication represents a coordinated
This year (and decade) is set to be a milestone in the movement for girls’ and women’s rights. 2020 is the year of Beijing +25, the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and the start of the 10-year countdown to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goal 4: inclusive and equitable, quality education that leaves no one behind.
The clock is ticking. Whilst significant progress has been made to advance gender parity in school enrolment rates, gender equality in education is about ensuring that all girls and boys benefit from education equally. With over 130 million girls worldwide out of school, and 90% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa not meeting minimal proficiency levels in reading by the time they complete primary school, never has the need been greater to put the furthest behind first: girls.
Leave No Girl Behind: accelerating action for girls’ education
Today we celebrate International Day of Education, which this year recognises education as the foundation stone for peace and development. It reaffirms education as our greatest public resource and a fundamental human right, which must be protected and upheld for every generation. At the same time, we recognise that the transformative potential of education can only be unlocked if children are in school and learning.
Therefore, today we join partners to launch a new wave of activism for girls’ education through the Leave No Girl Behind Campaign. Progress depends on partnership and this campaign is collaborative to the core, bringing together governments, civil society, educationists and youth across the world to call for 12 years of quality education for all girls everywhere.
Starting today, this next phase of the campaign will be carried forward to the 2020 Commonwealth Summit in June, when heads of government will gather in Kigali to review commitments made in 2018, including to girls’ education.
We will not rest until all girls can fulfil their right to the 12 years of quality education they need to learn, lead and succeed.
