Say Yes, Autumn 2003: Editorial

Since mid-June, when the girls’ education campaign Haydi Kızlar Okula! was launched in Van by the Minister of National Education and the UNICEF Executive Director, a great deal of work has gone into making the campaign slogan a reality.

Over 600,000 girls between six and fourteen years of age are out of school nationally. In the ten eastern provinces on which the campaign is focused this year, the number is around 250,000. This means that one in three girls between the ages of six and fourteen are not attending school in those provinces.

Having just returned from that part of the country, I can report that an enormous amount of work has been done to take on the huge challenge of getting these girls enrolled in primary school. Provincial and district officials comprised of several governmental sectors are working hard on the campaign under the leadership of the Ministry of National Education (MONE).

Provincial and District authorities are motivating their staff to get out to communities in order to persuade parents to send their daughters to school. The enrolment figures will eventually tell us how successful the campaigners have been but the strong sense of enthusiasm and commitment one gets from the districts and provinces is a positive sign that the campaign will be a success. We will be waiting for good news when the new enrolment figures are published about a month into the first term.

Finally let me say what an important ally the media has been in this campaign. They have used their outreach to raise awareness of the problem and to promote action. The private sector has also rallied around to help with funding to assist poor girls whose families cannot afford to send them to school. Coca-Cola has been generous with financial support and the ATV television channel, and İbrahim Ethem Ulagay have been providing substantial assistance in kind. I would also like to extend a special word of thanks to Professor İhsan Doğramacı for his contribution to the campaign.

A strong sense of purpose is building around the Haydi Kızlar Okula! message and this sense of purpose will continue to build until the message is understood in every household in Turkey and the goal of universal primary education for girls as well as boys has been reached.

Edmond McLoughney
UNICEF Representative, Turkey

PS: We’d very much like to hear readers reactions to this issue, so please feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.

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