Education

Why do some people fight so hard to keep girls from getting an education—sometimes resorting to unspeakable acts of violence, including gas and acid attacks and bombings?

Education is the single most powerful tool to end poverty and empower women and girls. For every year a girl spends in primary school, her earning potential increases by 15 percent, and she becomes more likely to send her own children to school. Yet worldwide, women are still twice as likely as men to be illiterate.

For many girls, school is not an option. Pressure to care for one’s family, pregnancy, and some religious doctrines often compel girls around the world to drop out when they’re very young, or never enroll at all. Families with only enough resources to send some children to school will most often choose their sons.

When women are given equal access to education, amazing things happen. In the U.S., more women than men are now entering college—and young, college-educated women in several big cities are out-earning their male counterparts for the first time. Women with access to education make better decisions for themselves, their children, and their families. And it pays off for everyone else, too: educating women lifts a country’s economy and boosts public health.