Education is a Pathway Toward Human Rights and Empowerment for Women and Girls Everywhere

International Women’s Day Statement by Education Cannot Wait’s Yasmine Sherif

NEW YORK, March 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On International Women’s Day, Education Cannot Wait joins our partners worldwide in calling for human rights and empowerment for women and girls everywhere.

Empowerment starts with an education. Worldwide, women still account for almost two-thirds of all adults unable to read, according to UNESCO. The challenge becomes even more severe on the frontlines of armed conflict, climate change and forced displacement, where approximately 234 million children in crisis contexts (half of whom are girls) require our urgent support in accessing quality education.

In Afghanistan an entire generation of girls is being systematically denied their right to an education, and thus deliberately disempowered. About 2.5 million Afghan girls are out of school today according to UNESCO. That’s 2.5 million people denied their right to develop and their capacity to help rebuild a nation that has suffered far too long.

This week, a new feature film titled ‘Rule Breakers’ highlights the stories of hope, courage and resilience of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team. In real life, ECW’s Global Champion Somaya Faruqi led that team to victory in competitions around the world. Today, she has joined a long list of leading global advocates to call on leaders to listen to #AfghanGirlsVoices and call for a return to equality and equal access to quality education for all the girls and women of Afghanistan.

Education is also fundamental in claiming and protecting human rights. Today, we commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a defining commitment to ensuring human rights for women everywhere.

“Investing in formal and non-formal education and training for girls and women, with its exceptionally high social and economic return, has proved to be one of the best means of achieving sustainable development and economic growth that is both sustained and sustainable.” ~ Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Education is the most important investment of all: a quality education for every girl means empowerment of every woman. It is not a short-cut, nor an unattainable dream. Education is the path.

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