Press Centre 2003/06/17: Girls’ Education

Statement by Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, on the launch of Haydi Kızlar Okula!

Launch of the campaign for girls’ education in Turkey

Van, Turkey, June 17 2003 -- Minister, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It’s a pleasure to be back in Turkey, and it’s a particular pleasure to pay my first visit to Van. Minister Çelik was kind enough to invite me to his home province for the launch of this vital initiative, the campaign for girls education.

The theme of girls’ education harmonises perfectly with a new drive launched in İstanbul called Leave No Child Out. It envisions a world in which no child is discriminated against or excluded, like the 120 million children around the world who are not in school -- the majority of them girls.

It is a vision that begins with the recognition that education is the right of all children -- and the obligation of all governments, its primacy proclaimed by agreements ranging from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Fulfilling the right of every girl to a quality basic education is the key to promoting true equality between boys and girls and men and women.

But education, especially for girls, is also smart economics. Only education can equip girls with the confidence to make the most of their abilities; that can provide a means for changing attitudes about violence while promoting equality; and that can put young women on a path to economic and social empowerment.

For Turkey, as elsewhere, education, especially for girls, is a prerequisite for attacking poverty.

We know from hard empirical evidence that girls who are educated generally have healthier and better-educated children; that they are more likely to understand what they must do to protect themselves and their families against HIV/AIDS and other diseases; and that they tend to have smaller families.

Ensuring quality education and basic literacy will also open the doors to information technology and the new economy -- and prevent the digital divide from becoming a new gender divide.

Turkey is to be congratulated for the great strides it has made since compulsory schooling was raised from five to eight years in the 1997/98 school year. Girls’ enrolment rates are significantly higher.

But is equally important to ensure that the education they receive is of good quality. That is why the Child Friendly Learning Environment programme is so important, for it is aimed at making school a more enriching experience for children: enhancing the relevance of the curriculum; improving the physical conditions and hygiene of schools; and increasing the level of student and parent involvement in running the school.

Another issue which is very relevant to girls’ education is that of attendance. A lot of girls who enrol stay at home to help on the farm or to do housework. Families must be persuaded that it is not in the interests of the girls or of the families themselves to keep the girls at home. And that is one of the main objectives of this Campaign: to convince those families to not just send their girls to school, but to ensure they stay there until they have completed -- at a minimum -- their eight years of compulsory schooling.

I realise that sending a child to school can be an economic hardship. In this connection, the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of free textbooks from next year will remove a big obstacle for many. So the time is right for a big push to get every girl into school.

For this campaign to be a success, a lot of people need to be involved. People at provincial and district level who hold positions of influence can make a huge difference. Provincial and district governors, provincial and district directors of education, health, muhtars, imams, the national and local media. Teachers. All need to commit themselves wholeheartedly to this campaign. In practical terms, it will involve talking to families who keep girls at home and convincing them that it is in their interests to send the girls to school.

In a province like Van, where the statistics tell us that a high percentage of girls between six and fourteen are illiterate, a great deal of work and dedication will be required. But there is no doubt in my mind that it can be done. The Minister is totally committed, and experience tells us that once you have the political will, everything is possible.

Yesterday I met the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Gül as well as the Minister of Health. All are fully behind the goals of this campaign because they know what a difference it can make -- not just for the girls themselves, but for Turkey as a whole.

The extraordinary results in Turkey of the Say Yes for Children campaign last year also gives great cause for optimism. Turkey recorded 16 million pledges, second only to China worldwide -- and among the most voted-for priority for children was educate every child.

Last night I also had the privilege of seeing the girls from Muradiye in the play Kardelen. It was a powerful example of how education can change an individual for the better by self-confidence and creativity. What wonderful role models the Muradiye girls have given us!

The big push for girls will also have an effect on boys’ enrolment -- you can count on that. In any case, the girl’s still have a lot to do to catch up with the boy’s level of enrolment.

I am personally committed to ensuring that all girls everywhere complete at least their compulsory education. Turkey is one of 25 countries I have selected around the world for my personal attention to help accelerate action on girls’ education.

UNICEF will do all it can to raise funds for the campaign, or to use our influence with donors to leverage funds for the cause.

The UNICEF Turkey office has put girls’ education at the top of its own agenda, and will be providing technical and programme support to the fullest extent of their abilities. They will be strongly supported by our Regional Office under Philip O’Brien, who is here with me on this visit.

Let me close by laying down a challenge to Turkey and to the Minister. That challenge is to achieve the same national enrolment figures for girls as for boys by the 2005/06 school year.

It’s a daunting challenge, but from the spirit, the commitment, the ideas, the strategies I have seen in this short visit, I am confident that it can be done and will serve as a shining example to countries throughout the region.

Thank you.

Read more about Haydi Kızlar Okula! -- the girls’ education campaign in Turkey -- in the Programmes Section.

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