Here: “We Promote Girls’ Education – Ensuring That They Complete Primary Education As a Minimum – Because It Benefits All Children, Both Girls and Boys
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LIMUN HS 2017 25TH – 26TH NOVEMBER 2017 UNICEF STUDY GUIDE ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION FOR GIRLS CONTENTS Introduction to the Chairs ....................................................................... 1 Introduction to the Committee ............................................................... 0 Topic A: ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION FOR GIRLS ........................ 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 History of the Topic ....................................................................................... 0 The Beijing Platform (1995) ........................................................................... 0 The Millennium Development Goals (2000) .................................................. 0 Malala Yousafzai’s Story ................................................................................ 0 The Sustainable Development Goals (2015) ................................................... 0 Key Actors ..................................................................................................... 0 UNICEF’s Work ............................................................................................. 0 Other UN Bodies ............................................................................................ 0 Government Action ....................................................................................... 0 UK’s Department For International Development ......................................... 0 US’ Let Girls Learn Initiative ......................................................................... 0 Non-governmental Organisations .................................................................. 1 Plan International .......................................................................................... 1 The Malala Fund ............................................................................................. 1 Discussion Of The Topic ................................................................................. 1 Barriers To Girls’ Education And Solutions .................................................... 1 Poverty And Cost ............................................................................................ 2 Child Marriage And Early Pregnancy .............................................................. 2 Child Labour And Domestic Duties ................................................................. 2 Disabilities And Health ................................................................................... 3 Conflict And Humanitarian Crises ..................................................................4 Bloc Positions .................................................................................................4 EU ..................................................................................................................4 Arab League ................................................................................................... 5 China and Allies .............................................................................................. 5 Points a Resolution Must Address .................................................................. 5 Further Reading ............................................................................................. 6 Bibliography ................................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION TO THE CHAIRS Sarthak Kumar - Director Hi! My name is Sarthak - if you can't pronounce it, don't worry, we'll get plenty of practice over three days! Just started my 3rd year in Computing at Imperial, but more importantly this is my third year in MUN and even more importantly this is my third conference as a chair! Can't wait to meet each and every one of you amazing folks, and let's make our committee the best of LIMUN!!! Ashvini Rae – Assistant Director Hi, I’m Ashvini and I’m a former high school debating nerd turned university MUN-er. I’m relatively new to the world of MUN and had no clue what things like moderated caucuses were this time last year. I’ve learnt a lot about MUN in the past year and have attended five conferences, including LIMUN 2017. I’m currently studying Politics and International Relations at the University of York (but am still a Londoner at heart). In my spare (non-MUN) time, I enjoy napping and Netflix and am currently teaching myself to play the ukulele. I also have a keen interest in international development and women’s rights. The issue of equal access to education for girls is one that I’m really passionate about so I hope you all enjoy discussing it! INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMITTEE The UNICEF committee works to protect children all across the world to ensure that their rights and wellbeing are being protected and maintained. Their headquarters are in New York and one of the main aims of the UNICEF Committee is the promotion of girls’ education, as demonstrated here: “We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children.”1 The UNICEF committee continues their work in this light and we hope that the delegates, regardless of their country try and act in the spirit of the UNICEF Committee. On the topic of Girl’s Education, the committee has been working on how to deal with emergencies and how to continue teaching children in a safe manner that is effective and to a high standard. UNICEF has a very tight budget with less that 2% of GDP being spent on education. The UNICEF committee cannot force countries to adopt a policy of sanction member states, they can only compile reports and suggest possible solutions, if countries would like to be sanctioned, it requires the ratification of the Security Council. 1 "About UNICEF" 2017 TOPIC A: ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION FOR GIRLS INTRODUCTION Education is vital for both the development and empowerment of children. As well as being a human right, access to education has multiple socio-economic benefits for children and the societies that they live in. However, it is estimated that there are currently 130 million girls across the world who are out of school and unable to access education.2 The situation is particularly bad in poor and developing countries. According to UN statistics, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of girls who are not enrolled in schools. (See map below).3 There are many reasons why girls and young women are unable to access education. The main economic reasons for this include poverty and a lack of funding. The main social reasons include gender norms as well as child marriage and pregnancy. In order to address this issue it is necessary to understand all of these reasons and that they might change from region to region. Access to education can have multiple benefits for girls and their families, as well as their communities and their countries. There are both social and economic benefits to opening up access to education. According to the Malala Fund, for example, educating girls could boost the economies of low and middle income countries would be boosted by up to $92 billion per year. (3) The social benefits include the reduction in child deaths and the reduction in child marriages that better education could lead to. Ensuring quality education for girls and young women is, therefore, an important issue and must be addressed by UNICEF. 2 "Girls' Education Overview" 2017. 3 "UIS Tellmaps" 2017. HISTORY OF THE TOPIC Unequal access to education for girls and young women has often been identified as a substantial barrier to achieving both gender equality and sustainable development. This section of the Study Guide will consider various efforts of the UN and other international bodies to make education more inclusive and equal. THE BEIJING PLATFORM (1995) The 1995 Beijing Platform, which came out of the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women, is seen as a very significant document in the UN’s efforts towards gender equality. The Platform acknowledged the need to ensure girls and young women have equal access to education. It identified several actions that should be taken by governments and set the (ambitious) goal of achieving gender equality in education by 2005. THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (2000) The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established the goal of achieving universal primary school education by 2015. This goal took into account gender disparities in education and aimed to eliminate these equalities. It also led to the founding of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) in 2000, a body dedicated to increasing female participation in education. The UN made progress towards MDG 2 between the years of 2000 and 2015. Primary school enrolment in developing countries increased from 83% in 2000 to 91% in 2015. More specifically, the rate of primary school enrolment in Sub-Saharan Africa increased from 8% between the years of 1990 and 2000 to 20% between the years of 2000 and 2015.4 However, it failed to ensure universal access to education by 2015. It also failed to eliminate gender inequalities in education. MALALA YOUSAFZAI’S STORY Malala became a high-profile activist after protesting the Taliban’s ban on female education in her hometown in Pakistan. In 2012, she was targeted by the Taliban and shot multiple times and suffered critical injuries. Since her recovery,