Enhancing Access to Education for Girls and Young Women Educating a girl forever changes her life and the lives of those around her. Education catalyzes a range of economic, social, and health benefits that reach far beyond individual transformation, benefiting families, communities, and entire societies. Providing girls and young women with opportunity to pursue an education is one of the most effective ways to promote gender equality and eradicate poverty in Asia.

LITERACY & LIFE SKILLS The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia Program EMPOWERMENT Literacy is the foundation for a good education supports literacy development through supplying THROUGH and plays a vital role in reducing poverty, yet critical educational resources to community librar- EDUCATION women and girls account for nearly two-thirds ies, schools, universities, NGOs, and government ministries, and makes a special effort to reach girls of the illiterate population worldwide and in the The Asia Foundation Asia-Pacific region. The Asia Foundation leads and women. In 2015, the program distributed has been supporting programs to support girls’ and women’s literacy and nearly 21,000 new books to 64 girls’ schools and education for women other critical life skills across the Asia-Pacific region. women’s colleges in , , and girls since 1954. , , , and . In Afghanistan, as part of the Afghanistan Reads! In and , the Foundation Community Libraries and Literacy Program, The In 2015, implements the Aflateen program to financially Asia Foundation provided life skills training 238 young women and socially empower adolescent girls and young centered on health, hygiene and nutrition to more in our scholarship women through developing their financial literacy than 900 women and girls. programs in and budgeting skills. The program is based on a , , model developed by Aflatoun International, and In Bangladesh, the Foundation works to improve , , implemented together with partners. In Thailand, digital literacy among women and girls through and a select group of young women will participate the Access4Asia Program. The program established graduated from in a Strategic Entrepreneurship Program, through four centers to train female and male youth to university with which they will be mentored and guided to start use the internet as an educational resource, and degrees in science businesses. provided an English language skills orientation to and technology. 50 girls. SECONDARY SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS USAID’s Promote Scholarship Program, which The Asia Foundation Adolescence is a pivotal stage in girls’ lives, when will support 720 Afghan women to complete is a nonprofit international discriminatory gender norms can intensify and bachelor’s degrees at private universities in Afghan- development organization girls are more likely to be taken out of school. istan, and 180 Afghan women to pursue master’s committed to improving Secondary school completion for girls is associated degrees in the region. lives across a dynamic with a higher lifetime earning potential, increased and developing Asia. decision-making power in relationships, and Women and girls are underrepresented in sci- Headquartered in San ence, technology, engineering, and mathematics delayed marriage and childbearing. Yet girls are Francisco, The Asia (STEM) fields—areas with enormous growth less likely than boys to attend secondary school Foundation works through potential in Asia. The Merali Scholarship Program across Asia. a network of offices in 18 was established in 2010 to provide young women Asian countries and in In Vietnam, the Foundation provided scholarships from low-income families with scholarships to Washington, DC. Working to nearly 400 girls in the 2014-2015 academic pursue university degrees in science and technol- with public and private year to complete their secondary school education. ogy. The program has supported nearly 500 young By providing tuition support, books, uniforms, women to pursue higher education in Cambodia, partners, the Foundation and bicycles, this program reduces the financial Laos, Mongolia, Malaysia, and Vietnam since its receives funding from a obstacles families face to keeping their daughters inception. With a focus on holistic development diverse group of enrolled in school, and creates a supportive envi- and academic performance, the program provides bilateral and multilateral ronment for girls to focus on their education. female students with training in computer and development agencies, information technologies, classes on research and foundations, corporations, UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS English-language skills, and opportunities for and individuals. community service and professional development. Committed to improving access to higher educa- Through the Merali Scholarship Program young tion across Asia, The Foundation supports adoles- women are exceling in STEM careers and surpass- cent girls and young women with scholarships to ing expectations about the role women can play attend college. The scholarships help unlock their in science and technology when given the tools to potential and equip them with the tools necessary achieve success. to pursue their goals and build a promising future. The Foundation also provides scholarships for In Afghanistan, women remain dramatically North Korean women living in South to under-represented at universities in Afghanistan, attend Ewha Womans University in Seoul, one of both as students and professors. With support the top universities in . In addition from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, we to tuition, the program provides English language have sponsored 78 Afghan women to enroll in courses and facilitates exchanges with international undergraduate degree programs and 10 female students. As a result, scholarship recipients are bet- university professors to enroll in advanced degree ter equipped to obtain well-paying jobs and build programs. The Foundation is also implementing brighter futures for themselves and their families.

SCHOLAR HIGHLIGHT: PUREVSUREN ENKHTUR, MERALI SCHOLAR HEADQUARTERS & LABORATORY ENGINEER, MONGOLIA 465 California Street, 9th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 USA Tel: (415) 982-4640 As herders in Mongolia, Purevsuren’s family faced financial hardships and Fax: (415) 392-8863 could not afford to send her to university. Purevsuren had high univer- [email protected] sity entrance scores and good grades, and was selected for the Merali WASHINGTON, DC 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Scholarship Program, which allowed her pursue an undergraduate degree Suite 815 Washington, D.C. 20036 USA in environmental ecology at the National University of Mongolia. Tel: (202) 588-9420 Fax: (202) 588-9409 [email protected]

“Thanks to the Merali Scholarship, I’ve had the opportunity to study a www.asiafoundation.org profession that I’m interested in and enjoy. This scholarship has been the

greatest thing that has happened to my life and has helped my family a lot.” 08/16