Girls’ Education a State of Emergency in Rural Pakistan
Girls’ education in rural Pakistan has seen very modest improvements over the past several years. Access to quality education varies significantly throughout the country. with rural areas being particularly bad due to the high demands and restrictions on girls. They’re expected to marry young and have many children. Most girls are raised to serve their families and then go on to serve their husbands. To make matters worse, cultural norms prevent girls from studying alongside boys. According to the World Bank, only 22 percent of girls in rural areas have completed primary school. Even more, just 34 percent of females in rural areas are literate. One woman, Geytee Ara, has made it her mission in life to help educate girls in Pakistan. She opened a school that serves over 60 students, with equal numbers of boys and girls. Read more details here.
Learning Circles in Rwanda Discuss Challenges for Girls
A two-day training was recently held in Rwanda to discuss the efforts needed to tackle the challenges girls are facing in the Nyamagabe and Huye Districts of the Southern Province of Rwanda. The training, referred to as learning circles, was an opportunity for 20 people from a variety of NGOs to come together to share their experiences and find solutions to existing problems. Read more here.
First Saudi Women Will Compete in Olympics
For the first time in history, Saudi women will be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. Before this landmark decision Saudi Arabia was the only major nation to ban female athletes from its national Olympic team. This marks a rare advancement for women in Saudi Arabia, who are not even allowed to hold a driver’s license. Fortunately one woman, show-jumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas, is trained and ready to compete. Read it here.
Female Entrepreneurs Propel Growth in Emerging Countries
Women entrepreneurs and small-business owners are being recognized as one of the main drivers of growth in emerging countries. In fact, by the end of 2010 there were 187 million women worldwide who launched and ran businesses. India in particular has seen an incredible amount of economic success over the past several years, much in part to its growing number of female entrepreneurs. To read the stories of three women who started their own business in India go here.
