Women and girls make up half of the world's population, yet they are less likely to have access to education and the labour market (of the 773 million illiterate adults in the world, 63% are women). Gender equality is essential for an inclusive society and for a country's economic growth.

The last two decades have seen significant changes in the Women's rights in the world. Indeed, they have had better access to education, health care and the labour market. But while 2020 should have been a year to celebrate this progress, the COVID-19 marks a considerable step backwards in this area. Indeed, its economic and social impacts have been particularly violent for women: almost one in five women have experienced violence in the year 2020, women account for 54% of the job losses linked to the crisis and the gap between women and men will widen with 47 million more women and girls falling below the poverty line. More than ever, women's rights are at risk despite the promises of many political leaders.

Aide et Action places women and girls at the forefront of all its programmes. We are convinced that the empowerment of girls and women is an essential lever for accelerating sustainable change and changing the world. So, to give unprecedented impetus to our projects with them, we are launching a major global mobilisation movement: "Education for Women Now. The objective is simple but ambitious: enable 3 million vulnerable and marginalised women and girls to finally access quality education in Africa, Asia and Europe by 2025.

Together, we must make the voices of the millions of girls who are unfairly denied an education, women who are victims of violence and discrimination, heard.