Why quality education for girls and women is so important in Latin America?

By Sounds and Colours 13 March, 2023

In Latin America, for a long time, education remained a rather tricky issue and a reason for many discussions. Certain changes began 10 years ago when certain reforms started to take place in the region, as well as new solutions in the field of education. All this contributed to the gradual development of the segment and the expansion of access to education for various segments of the population.

Despite this, there are still many gaps in the system that are still relevant in Latin America. One of them is access to education for girls and women. Let’s try to figure out what the current problems are and why it is important to ensure that all women in Latin America have an unhindered right to education at all levels.

group of people wearing white and orange backpacks walking on gray concrete pavement during daytime

Is the right of girls to receive quality education realized in the region?

Education is one of the fundamental rights granted to every person, regardless of who they are and where they live. This provision is directly stipulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is mandatory for all civilized countries. Moreover, such regulation covers all levels of education, including primary, secondary, and higher education.

The leadership of states in Latin America is also trying to fulfill this prescription. This is confirmed by statistics provided by DataBank. It indicates that 100% of all girls who were entrants were enrolled in secondary school. Such data were kept in 2020.

However, it is important to consider an important nuance. The right to education for women involves not only providing access to schools and other educational institutions, but also the opportunity to complete the full basic cycle of education. In Latin America, the full implementation of this norm currently needs to be improved. While more than half of female students graduate from primary school, less than 50% graduate from secondary school.

Why is access to education for girls so important?

As mentioned above, this is a fundamental right of every girl and woman. In addition, providing ample opportunities for learning helps reduce the gender gap. Moreover, it is not only about education but also about employment and other areas of life. It also benefits the state. It manifests itself in several aspects:

Reducing the tendency to teenage pregnancy. In Latin America, as well as in other countries of the world, girls who complete the basic cycle of education tend to take a more conscious approach to life. They are more likely to consider marriage at a later age and actively take care of their health.
Reducing inequality in rights and poverty. Educated girls have more opportunities to integrate into different markets and can contribute to the country’s economy. For example, disabled students can access higher education through it. As a result, social stigmas are reduced, and awareness of inclusivity and diversity is raised in all areas of life.
Strengthening democracy in society. Providing opportunities for women to receive quality education significantly affects the general situation in society. In particular, this applies to various conflicts that periodically arise based on unequal rights.

A final aspect is that educated women tend to earn better salaries as well as make rational decisions that help improve life. More and more women are aware of all these advantages. Confirmation of this can be found in UNESCO IESALC statistics. It indicates that there were more women (approximately 55%) among the entrants to higher educational institutions. Such data were obtained as a result of research conducted in previous years.

What is the role of technology in the education of girls?

Education is the area where technology is most actively implemented. The pandemic also contributed to the acceleration of the pace, the consequences of which are still being overcome. In such conditions, distance learning has become one of the best and most effective solutions. This trend is also spreading in the countries of Latin America. Since 2021, the number of active internet users has started to increase in the region, so technology is a great solution for educating girls and women.

However, it is important to use effective methods for this. One of them can be the use of the Studocu educational platform. This is a large-scale project, where many educational materials on various topics and areas have been collected. Moreover, most such documents are available for free. All of them undergo thorough checks and are grouped according to certain characteristics. This allows you to quickly find the necessary courses with high-quality content. In addition, the platform has convenient tools that make the learning process more comfortable.

Conclusion

Considering all the circumstances, we can conclude about the importance of providing women from Latin America with full access to education. This applies to primary schools as well as other stages of the basic cycle of education. This will not only ensure the full realization of fundamental rights but will also benefit the states.

BIO:

Leslie Anglesey is a freelance writer, journalist, and author of various articles with a passion for telling stories about the economic and social situation in the world. In case of any inquiry or suggestion, kindly reach out to her at [email protected].

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