Paragraph 80(f)-(g) of the Beijing Platform for Action. Chapter IV. B. Education and Training of Women
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/10/10
Strategic objective B.1.
Ensure equal access to education
Actions to be taken
80. By Governments:
f. Increase enrolment and retention rates of girls by allocating appropriate budgetary resources; by enlisting the support of parents and the community, as well as through campaigns, flexible school schedules, incentives, scholarships and other means to minimize the costs of girls’ education to their families and to facilitate parents’ ability to choose education for the girl child; and by ensuring that the rights of women and girls to freedom of conscience and religion are respected in educational institutions through repealing any discriminatory laws or legislation based on religion, race or culture;
g. Promote an educational setting that eliminates all barriers that impeded the schooling of pregnant adolescents and young mothers, including, as appropriate, affordable and physically accessible child-care facilities and parental education to encourage those who are responsible for the care of their children and siblings during their school years, to return to or continue with and complete schooling;
Beijing Declaration (1995)
The problem at the level of entire nations is the decreased enrolment and retention, even if they stay in school, of students. This has been and continues to be a problem. In terms of the right to education for women and girls, the idea is to find the basic resources and will to provide for girls and women as early as possible with as robust an education as possible.
This is the main path to the highest quality of life, dignity, self-empowerment, and, indeed, the health and wealth of the nation as well. It does require a collective effort. Not only in terms of ridding ourselves of the illusion of non-embedment of the self but also in the consideration and implementation of the effort: how will this affect the most people in the most positive way?
If not, there may need to be a different qualitative calculation. The set of recommendations are, in fact, quite good. They are both specific practical, and with a good track record in formal institutions, in terms of opening the pathway for high performance of students.
Now, the parents and community are important to the success of any child. They are part of the aforementioned collective effort. The other efforts, which could be pushed by the parents and the community, would work to enlist financial support to reduce the burden of the cost of education on the young.
The right to education should be respected, also, within the bounds of the right to conscience and religion, i.e., religion should not be a club to prevent women from entering into education. The reduction of barriers across the board should be considered for the reduction of prejudice against women as well.
The impediments to the actualization, educationally for women and girls are numerous. Take, for example, the stark cases of adolescent pregnancy, where this, instantaneously, has life consequences for the young woman.
It impacts the ability to complete education, in turn, to get a job, and this is aside from the social stigma, the judgment of family and community, and the strong potential for lifelong poverty.
Proper child-care facilities are important for the rights mothers to be respected, but they often aren’t; even though, these provisions would greatly improve the livelihoods and outcomes of children in such circumstances and, thus, increase the outcomes of the young.
This should incorporate, but not be limited to, the “parental education to encourage those who are responsible for the care of their children and siblings during their school years” to become actively encouraged and supported in their own pursuits of education.
–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
- Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
- Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
- The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
- Beijing Declaration(1995).
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
- The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
- Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.
License
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.
Copyright
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012-Present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. All interviewees and authors co-copyright their material and may disseminate for their independent purposes.
In-Sight Publishing 