​Education for girls and women: a catalyst for equality and empowerment

Why is girls' education important?

The’education of girls and women enables people to access high-quality education, to stand up for their rights and to choose their future more freely. A girl deprived of education is deprived of her basic rights. She is relegated to household chores, exposed to pregnancy and early marriage and to dependency. Ensuring that all girls and women have access to an quality education  is essential to respect their rights and to accelerate the building of a just and sustainable world.

The Action Education charity is taking action to ensure access to education for all girls and women, particularly in countries where their rights are still largely disregarded. More broadly, this struggle helps to combat gender discrimination, which is still all too prevalent throughout the world.

Discrimination and violence against girls and women: an alarming situation

Girls and women face multiple discrimination and violence from birth:

• 129 million girls around the world are not in school (UNICEF).
• 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 every year (UNICEF).
• In low- and middle-income countries, approximately 12 million girls aged between 15 and 19 give birth every year (WHO, 2024).

COVID-19, rising food and energy prices, insecurity and the climate crisis have further exacerbated the situation facing young girls around the world, both in terms of educational inequalities and the deprivation of their freedoms.

How education changes the lives of girls and women

Ensuring that girls and women have access to quality education enables them to respect and enforce their rights.

Educated girls acquire life skills and competencies that enable them to be active and committed citizens, defend their rights, choose a job, be financially independent and take better care of themselves and their children.

Ensuring access to education for women is a long-term struggle, and the progress made remains fragile, regardless of the region. The gender inequality in education persist, but initiatives such as those carried out by Action Education help to promote women’s empowerment.

Example of a project to promote girls’ education: SCOLFILLE in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, the SCOLFILLE project aims to improve access, retention and girls completing their education.

In its post-primary phase, the project addresses several barriers identified on the ground: the distance to schools, families’ concerns about girls’ safety on their way to school, the influence of certain social practices, a lack of self-confidence, and gender-based violence.

In particular, the project supports vulnerable girls during the transition from primary to post-primary education, a time when there is a high risk of them dropping out.

Empowering women: the FORSELF project in Burkina Faso

We offer two types of support to women who have been deprived of education:

• l'literacy ;
• the socio-professional training with support for entrepreneurship.

These training programmes enable them to acquire skills, build self-confidence and gain access to better economic opportunities. In the long term, our support helps to transform cultural traditions relating to gender and to overturn the current balance of power. It is being implemented in several of the countries where we operate, notably in India and Laos.

Marketed in Burkina Faso under the name FORSELF, this programme enables 400 illiterate women in Ouagadougou, who are already running small-scale income-generating activities, to take part in training in leadership and entrepreneurship, support for business start-ups and guidance on accessing financial services.

The EGFPE project in Laos and Vietnam

The project EGFPE, ‘Gender Equality through Vocational Training and Entrepreneurship’, is being carried out in Laos and Vietnam.

It aims to strengthen gender-sensitive education, support women’s economic empowerment and improve their economic circumstances. The project brings together men, families, education stakeholders and civil society organisations in order to bring about lasting change in practices.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Education of Girls and Women

Why is girls’ education important?

Girls’ education is important because it enables them to understand their rights, continue their schooling, choose their own future, gain access to employment and have a say in decisions that affect them. It also helps to reduce early marriage, teenage pregnancy, economic dependence and certain forms of violence.

What are the main barriers to girls’ education?

The main barriers are poverty, the distance to schools, early marriage, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, a lack of suitable sanitation facilities, imposed domestic chores and stereotypes that limit girls’ access to education.

What is the link between girls’ education and women’s rights?

Education enables girls and women to understand their rights, to stand up for them and to participate more fully in social, economic and civic life. It promotes independence, self-confidence and the ability to make their own choices.

How does Action Education work to promote girls’ education?

Action Education works to facilitate girls’ access to school, support their continued participation in the education system, raise awareness amongst families and communities, train education professionals, and develop projects tailored to the barriers encountered locally.

Why is it also necessary to provide training for adult women?

Many women were denied an education during their childhood. Literacy programmes, vocational training and support for entrepreneurship enable them to earn an income, better defend their rights, gain greater independence and play a more active role in the life of their community.

How can we support the education of girls and women?

You can support the education of girls and women by making a donation, spreading the word about the charity’s work, becoming a volunteer or supporting an education project. Every contribution helps Action Education to support the most vulnerable communities.