On September 4， 2015， Irina Gueorguieva Bokova， Director-General of United Nations Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization （UNESCO） and Peng Liyuan， the First Lady of China attended a high-level seminar of professionals of education from Africa and Asia in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. More than 40 people from 14 countries attended the “International Seminar of Education for Girls and Women”. The seminar has brought the problem of education for girls to the public sight through the discussion about how to promote education for girls.

2015年9月4日，聯(lián)合國教科文組織總干事伊琳娜·博科娃與聯(lián)合國教科文組織

促進(jìn)女童和婦女教育特使、中國第一夫人彭麗媛共同參加了在北京釣魚臺(tái)國賓館舉辦的

由非洲和亞洲教育界人士參加的高級(jí)別研討會(huì)。共有來自14個(gè)國家的40余名人士參加了此次“女童與婦女教育國際研討會(huì)”，會(huì)議就如何推動(dòng)女童教育開展了研討，

再一次將女童教育問題提入了公眾視野。

How many girls have no access to education？

還有多少女孩不能上學(xué)？

In recent years， the international community has had great progress in promoting education for girls. One of the Millennium Development Goals （MDGs） which has the most prominent effect is about the education for girls. However， many conventions， conflicts， inequality have made millions of women and girls live in the shadow.

According to the data released by UNESCO in 2004： there are 126 million children in the world who have been deprived of the right of education， among whom 56% are girls； over one third of these children have never been to a classroom， which means that， one of every six children is not receiving education. According to International Labour Organization （ILO）， there are more than 246 million child laborers who are aged from 5 to 17. Over 100 million of them cannot go to school， or have been deprived the normal life of a child.

By now， more than one third of the countries have not realized education equality. One third of the girls of developing countries get married before18 years old， and millions of them give birth before 20 years old. Many of these young females have obstacles in the way of pursuing education， they may have only been to school for several years， or have not studied at all.

近年來，國際社會(huì)在促進(jìn)女童教育方面取得了長足的進(jìn)展，聯(lián)合國“千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)”中有關(guān)女童平等教育的第三項(xiàng)目標(biāo)是落實(shí)成效最為顯著的目標(biāo)之一。然而，種種條條框框、沖突、不公正仍然給全球數(shù)以百萬計(jì)的女童和婦女的生活投下陰影。

根據(jù)聯(lián)合國教科文組織2004年公布的數(shù)字：全世界被剝奪上學(xué)權(quán)利的兒童有1.26億人，其中女童占56%；他們中超過三分之一的孩子從來都沒有進(jìn)過教室。也就是說，全世界每六個(gè)兒童中，就有一個(gè)沒在接受教育。另據(jù)世界勞工組織公布：當(dāng)今世界上大約有2.46億5至17歲不等的童工。他們中超過1億人不能上學(xué)，或是被剝奪了正常的兒童生活。

目前，仍有三分之一的國家沒有在小學(xué)中實(shí)現(xiàn)平等教育。發(fā)展中國家三分之一的女童在年滿18歲前出嫁，她們當(dāng)中數(shù)百萬人十幾歲的時(shí)候就分娩產(chǎn)子。這些年輕女性中的大多數(shù)在繼續(xù)求學(xué)之路上受到阻礙，她們只能讀幾年書，甚至根本沒有機(jī)會(huì)接受教育。

In Yemen， it is unlikely for 80% of the uneducated girls to have education， however， the proportion of the boys is 36%. In Sub-Saharan Africa， it is estimated that 12 million girls cannot have education. In India， 40% of the girls under 14 do not go to school， and it is common for girls to work to support the family； two of every five Indian women are literate； in many regions of India， it is a custom to get married in the childhood and many girls get married and give birth early. In 2003， the State of the World’s Children 2015 （SOWC） released by the UNICEF pointed out that 83% of the girls who have not had education live in Africa， South Asia， East Asia and the Pacific Ocean Region.

In addition， the girls pursuing education are targeted by extremist movements， in that their energy can bring great social changes in society， culture， economy and politics after they are educated. According to the statistics， thousands of school attacks have taken place in over 70 countries， and most of the targets were female students and teachers who advocated education for girls.

The famous attack on Malala Yousafzai is an example. In 2008， Taliban began to rule the Swat Valley， Pakistan with high pressure， including prohibiting girls from going to school. In the same year， more than 400 schools were forced to shut down. In such condition， Malala fought for the local girls’ right of receiving education by speech and blog. On October 9， 2012， the 15-year-old girl Malala was shot in a school bus in the head， dying. Fortunately， with the doctor's efforts， Malala survived. On March 19 the next year， she managed to wear the school uniform and returned school， and started a new life in a British high school for girls， continued to speak for vulnerable children. particularly girls， and strive for the realization of the equal right of education.

在也門，有將近80%失學(xué)的女孩不大可能入學(xué)，而男孩的比例則為36%。在撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲，估計(jì)有1，200萬女孩不會(huì)入學(xué)。在印度，14歲以下的女童中有40%不上學(xué)，女孩輟學(xué)打工補(bǔ)貼家用是常態(tài)；每五名印度婦女中只有兩人識(shí)文解字；印度很多地區(qū)童婚是習(xí)俗，很多女孩早早的便嫁人生子。早在2003年，聯(lián)合國兒童基金會(huì)發(fā)表的《世界兒童狀況》報(bào)告就指出全球83%的失學(xué)女童生活在非洲、南亞、東亞和太平洋地區(qū)。

此外，極端主義運(yùn)動(dòng)也將尋求受教育的女童作為目標(biāo)，因?yàn)榕芙逃笏ぐl(fā)出的能量能夠帶來社會(huì)、文化、經(jīng)濟(jì)和政治方面的變革。據(jù)統(tǒng)計(jì)，2009年至2014年間，世界70多個(gè)國家共發(fā)生了數(shù)千起襲擊學(xué)校事件，其中大多數(shù)以女學(xué)生和提倡女童教育的老師為目標(biāo)。

著名的馬拉拉遇襲案就是其一。2008年，塔利班開始了對(duì)巴基斯坦斯瓦特地區(qū)的高壓統(tǒng)治，包括禁止任何女孩上學(xué)讀書。同年，超過400所學(xué)校被迫關(guān)閉。在這種情況下，馬拉拉站出來用演講和博客為當(dāng)?shù)嘏⒆訝幦∈芙逃臋?quán)利。2012年10月9日，15歲女孩馬拉拉在學(xué)校校車上遭遇槍擊，頭部中彈，生命垂危。所幸，在醫(yī)生的極力搶救下，馬拉拉活了下來。在次年的3月19日，她終于重新穿上校服，在一家英國女子高中開始了新的生活，繼續(xù)為弱勢孩童，特別是女孩子振臂高呼，爭取和實(shí)現(xiàn)平等教育權(quán)。

What is hindering girls from stepping into school？

是什么阻止女孩邁進(jìn)校園？

In the developing countries， millions of girls have no access to education， however， the number of industrialized countries is much lower.

The report released by the UNESCO and UNICEF pointed out that， among the 126 million children who have no access to education， 110 million are living in developing countries， especially underdeveloped countries， among them， half of the children live in Asia. South Asia has 46.5 million， and there are about 46 million in Sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations Children's Emergency Fun （UNICEF） says that there are about 46 million children of schooling age who have never been to school in several Sub-Saharan Africa countries. In South Asia， almost the same number of children have never received education before. These children in the two areas alone account for 3/4 of the child who cannot go to school in the world， while in industrialized countries， only about 2 million children are not able to go to school.

According to the data of World Bank in 2013， about 1.2 billion of people in the world live in extreme poverty in 2010， with a living expenses of less than 1.25 dollars a day. Sub-Saharan Africa， India， China and Latin America are the world's leading countries and regions of extreme poverty. These areas are known as \"serious disaster-stricken areas\" for children， especially girls who cannot receive education.

在發(fā)展中國家里，數(shù)百萬女孩面臨著失學(xué)。而在工業(yè)化國家，這個(gè)數(shù)字要少很多。

聯(lián)合國教科文組織和聯(lián)合國兒童基金會(huì)的報(bào)告指出，在全球1.26億失學(xué)兒童中，有1.1億多失學(xué)兒童生活在發(fā)展中國家，尤其是最不發(fā)達(dá)國家，其中，有一半的兒童生活在亞洲。南亞地區(qū)有0.465億，非洲撒哈拉以南地區(qū)約有0.46億。聯(lián)合國兒童基金組織說，在撒哈拉沙漠以南的幾個(gè)非洲國家，大約有4，600萬個(gè)學(xué)齡兒童從來沒有上過學(xué)。在南亞，也有幾乎同樣多的兒童從來沒有上過學(xué)。光這兩個(gè)地區(qū)的失學(xué)兒童，就占全世界失學(xué)兒童的四分之三。而相比之下，在工業(yè)化國家里，只有200多萬個(gè)兒童沒能上學(xué)。

世界銀行2013年的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2010年，全世界約有12億人處于極度貧困狀態(tài)中，每天生活費(fèi)不足1.25美元。撒哈拉以南非洲、印度、中國和拉美，成為世界極度貧困人口主要居住的國家和地區(qū)。而這些地區(qū)，在失學(xué)兒童，尤其是失學(xué)女童“重災(zāi)區(qū)”，也是榜上有名。

Take India which has poor education of girls as an example， in 2010， its population of the extremely poor accounted for about 33% of the total number of the world， higher than the 22% of thirty years before that. The rural population in India is above 70%， and the illiteracy rate is 24%， the rate of malnutrition in children is over 40%， and 50% of the mortality of the children is caused by malnutrition. In the 2008 Global Hunger Index survey， the number of hungry people in India reached 0.2 billion， ranking the highest in the world and accounting for nearly 1/5 of the total population of the country.

Under such conditions， where the family members struggle for living or even rely on the girl's marriage contract to get some income to maintain domestic case， education is a fantasy.

American expert of the girls' education policy， Dr. Barbara Herz says in her essay What Works in Girls' Education that， poverty may be the most important reason why girls cannot go to school. \"Most of the benefits of the education of girls will be given to the family and society after the girls grow up， but the cost of education must be borne by now.\" \"Even in countries where the government is in charge of primary and secondary education， some of the costs are still burdened by their parents， it is a huge expense， especially for poor parents.\"

以女童教育情況較差的印度為例，2010年，印度極貧人口占全球極貧人口的比重高達(dá)33%，占比高于30年前的22%。印度的農(nóng)村人口在70%以上，文盲率高達(dá)24%，兒童營養(yǎng)不良率超過40%，將近50%的兒童死亡率是營養(yǎng)不足所導(dǎo)致。在2008年全球饑餓指數(shù)調(diào)查時(shí)，印度的饑餓人數(shù)達(dá)2億，位列全球之最，占全國總?cè)丝诘慕宸种弧?/p>

在這樣的條件下，在家庭成員苦苦掙扎甚至要靠家中女孩的契約婚姻所得錢財(cái)維持家用的情況下，教育成了天方夜譚。

美國女童教育政策的專家芭芭拉·赫茲（Barbara Herz）博士在其文章《教育女童：奏效方略》中表示，貧窮可能是導(dǎo)致女童無法上學(xué)的最重要原因。“教育女孩對(duì)家庭、社會(huì)和女孩自己所產(chǎn)生的大部分好處是在女孩們長大成人后才得到，而教育的費(fèi)用則必須要在現(xiàn)在就承擔(dān)?！薄凹词乖谝恍┯烧袚?dān)小學(xué)和中學(xué)大部分教育費(fèi)用的國家里，某些費(fèi)用仍然落在家長的身上，特別對(duì)于窮困的家長來說這些費(fèi)用可能是一筆相當(dāng)大的開支。”

At present， the direct costs of education may be accounted for 5% to 10% of the average family income， and 20% to 30% of the income of poor families， while the extremely poor， or hungry families， cannot pay for the huge cost of education at all. In addition， parents may also need to pay the teacher's supplementary wages， the transportation cost for children go to school， accommodation costs， school uniforms and other expenses， and generally speaking， the cost for girls will be higher than that of boys.

In addition， because of going to school， the children have no time to do housework or farm work， or work to make money to support the family， such loss should also be considered. And in most rural areas， girls need to take on more housework and trifles， in such a social environment， sending girls to school will cost parents a higher price.

In addition， in poor families，there are generally more than one child. This makes education more difficult to be achieved. Dr. Barbara said sadly that， while not all children can have education， many families choose to sacrifice girls， whose education cost is higher but with \"lower returns\" （due to marriage and so on）.

目前，教育所需要的直接費(fèi)用可能會(huì)占到一般家庭平均收入的5%至10%，占貧困家庭收入的20%至30%，而極度貧困，甚至與饑餓為伴的家庭，完全支付不起教育所需花費(fèi)的龐大費(fèi)用。另外，家長還可能需要支付教師的補(bǔ)充工資、孩子上學(xué)的交通費(fèi)用、住宿費(fèi)用以及校服等一些其他費(fèi)用，而一般來說，女孩的這些費(fèi)用會(huì)比男孩更高。

除此之外，孩子因?yàn)樯蠈W(xué)沒時(shí)間做家務(wù)或干農(nóng)活，無法打工賺錢補(bǔ)貼家用的損失也需要計(jì)算在內(nèi)。而在大部分貧困地區(qū)，女孩都需要承擔(dān)更多的家務(wù)和雜活，這樣的社會(huì)環(huán)境里，送女孩去上學(xué)家長需要付出更高的代價(jià)。

另外，在貧困的家庭里，一般都不只有一個(gè)孩子。這使得教育更加難以實(shí)現(xiàn)。芭芭拉·赫茲博士十分遺憾地表示，在不能滿足所有孩子都受教育的情況下，很多家庭選擇了犧牲明顯教育成本更高且“回報(bào)更少”（因?yàn)榧奕说龋┑呐ⅰ?/p>

貧困除了帶來教育的條件不足，還是落后觀念的滋生土壤。調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，越是貧困的地區(qū)，重男輕女的情況越為嚴(yán)重。在這些地區(qū)，人們更多期待女孩比她們的兄弟去做更多的家務(wù)和農(nóng)活，在達(dá)到年齡后及時(shí)出嫁?！叭绻议L希望自己的女兒將來結(jié)婚并出嫁，那么教育一個(gè)女兒比起教育一個(gè)兒子來說似乎是一項(xiàng)不太靠得住的未來投資?！?/p>

Poverty not only leads to lack of education conditions， but also acts as breeding ground for the old-fashioned concepts. According to the survey， the more impoverished the area is， the more serious the situation of men are superior to women is. In these areas， people expect girls to do more housework and farm work than their brothers， and get married promptly after reaching the marrying age. “If parents want their daughter to get married in the future and live with the husband， then educating a daughter seems to be a less reliable future investment than educating a son.\"

Indian girl Geetha is the victim of such idea. Geetha quit school at the age of 9， because her father thought it was better for girls to herd sheep and do housework at home. A former teacher of Geetha tried to persuade Geetha's father and the villagers to let girls like Geetha to go back to school， but the attempt failed. \"Never， and will never be changed\" said her father， “I have never been to school. We are simple minded people.\" The government provides textbooks， scholarships， school uniforms， and even lunch as a means of encouragement， but it does not work. They struggle for survival all their life， and poverty and ignorance make them more stubborn.

In addition， some old fashioned and weird customs may also become a hindrance of girls’ education， For example， the dowry system in India， and the popular child marriage in Southeast Asian countries and Arab countries.

BBC once filmed a documentary of the Indian dowry system. The parents in the documentary said that they had to prepare dowry early for girls， to prevent that they are not able to marry， so they do not have much money to pay for their education； in addition， child marriage is prevailed in many places， which ends the possibility of girls’ education too early. According to the data of the International Women's Research Center for population and health 2011， in Niger， Chad and Mali， more than 70% girls are married under 18 years. In India， Nepal and Pakistan， some children have been engaged， or even get married before ten.

印度女孩Geetha就是這樣觀念下的犧牲品。Geetha在9歲時(shí)就停了學(xué)，因?yàn)樗赣H覺得女孩最好還是在家放羊做家務(wù)。Geetha以前的一位教師竭力勸說Geetha的父親和村里的父老，讓他們把像Geetha這樣的女童送回學(xué)校上學(xué)，但無功而返?！皬膩砣绱?，不會(huì)改變，”她父親說，“我沒有上過學(xué)。我們是頭腦簡單的人?！闭蕴峁┱n本、獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金、校服，甚至是午餐作為鼓勵(lì)手段都不起任何作用。他們終生為生存而掙扎，貧窮和無知使他們更加頑固。

除此之外，一些落后奇怪的習(xí)俗也可能成為女孩受教育的阻礙，例如印度的嫁妝制度，東南亞國家及阿拉伯國家盛行的童婚等。

BBC曾針對(duì)印度的嫁妝制度拍攝紀(jì)錄片，紀(jì)錄片中的女孩家長無奈地表示，他們不得不早早為女孩籌備嫁妝，以防孩子無法嫁出去，因此沒有過多的金錢支付孩子上學(xué)的費(fèi)用；此外，很多地方盛行的童婚，更是過早地結(jié)束了女孩受教育的可能。2011年國際婦女研究中心人口和健康數(shù)據(jù)統(tǒng)計(jì)顯示，在尼日爾、乍得和馬里，有70%多的女孩結(jié)婚時(shí)未滿18歲。印度、尼泊爾和巴基斯坦一些兒童10歲前就已訂婚，甚至結(jié)婚。

Girls’ education is part of social development

女童教育是社會(huì)發(fā)展的一部分

When we talk about girls' education， we usually talk about the benefits that educating girls will bring to families and society. That is not wrong. However， girls' education is urgent， not because of its potential benefits for future generations， but because receiving education itself is a part of human rights， as well as the first step to achieve gender equality.

As early as 1948， the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations Declaration confirmed the human right to receive education， On the basis of Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen， all kinds of international human rights conventions made the following provisions： to enjoy free compulsory primary school education is every child’s right， which cannot be deprived， regardless of gender.

In the 2000 World Education Forum， 164 countries made the collective commitment to strive to achieve the goals of the \"Education for All\" （EFA） program. Which includes that achieving gender equality in education by 2005 and achieving a good basic education for all by 2015. In the same year， the United Nations Millennium Declaration established the United Nations Millennium Development Goals （MDG）， where 189 countries signed the declaration and made commitments： by 2015， both boys and girls can complete all primary education courses； it is best to eliminate the gender gap in primary and secondary education by 2005， and the latest time to eliminate all levels of education gaps should be 2015.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein， the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights pointed out in the speech on the issue of equal education rights， that， without education， the equal rights of women cannot be achieved， “the opportunity to receive education is the key to open many achievements and choices\". Zeid stressed that every country should take immediate measures to ensure that all girls are able to effectively and safely get high-quality education， including human rights education. He mentioned that， in order to make women overcome discrimination， make their own voice， and fully participate in social life， we must further promote the realization of women's education. As the international community is moving towards sustainable development goals， if the implementation of the right of equal education of girls and women cannot be done， we will not be able to successfully meet the challenges of the future.

通常我們?cè)谡務(wù)撆逃龝r(shí)，提及較多的是教育給女童、女童家庭以及社會(huì)帶來的諸多好處。這并無可厚非。然而，女童教育之所以緊迫，并不是因其對(duì)后代或社會(huì)有潛在的好處，而是因?yàn)?，受教育本身就是人?quán)的一部分，是實(shí)現(xiàn)兩性平等的第一步。

早在1948年，聯(lián)合國《世界人權(quán)宣言》（Universal Declaration of Human Rights）便確定了每個(gè)人的受教育權(quán)，在《人權(quán)宣言》的基礎(chǔ)上，各種國際人權(quán)公約均對(duì)教育做了如下規(guī)定：享有免費(fèi)的小學(xué)義務(wù)教育是每個(gè)兒童——無論性別——不可剝奪的權(quán)利。

在2000年世界教育論壇大會(huì)（World Education Forum）上，164個(gè)國家做出集體承諾，要努力實(shí)現(xiàn)“人人受教育”計(jì)劃 （Education for All， EFA）的目標(biāo)。其中包括到2005年實(shí)現(xiàn)教育性別平等以及到2015年實(shí)現(xiàn)人人享有接受良好的基礎(chǔ)教育的同等機(jī)會(huì)。同年，聯(lián)合國《千年宣言》確立了“聯(lián)合國千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)”（MDG），189個(gè)國家簽署《宣言》做出承諾：到2015年，確保不論男童或女童都能完成全部初等教育課程；最好到2005年在小學(xué)教育和中學(xué)教育中消除兩性差距，最遲于2015年在各級(jí)教育中消除此種差距。

聯(lián)合國人權(quán)高專扎伊德·侯賽因就女童的平等教育權(quán)利問題發(fā)表講話時(shí)指出，沒有教育就無法實(shí)現(xiàn)女性的平等權(quán)利，“受教育的機(jī)會(huì)是開啟諸多成就和選擇的鑰匙”。扎伊德強(qiáng)調(diào)，每一個(gè)國家都應(yīng)立即采取措施確保所有女童都能夠有效、安全地獲得包括人權(quán)教育在內(nèi)的優(yōu)質(zhì)教育。他提到，要使女性戰(zhàn)勝歧視、發(fā)出自己的聲音，并且全面參與社會(huì)生活，就必須進(jìn)一步推動(dòng)實(shí)現(xiàn)女性受教育的權(quán)利。在國際社會(huì)朝著可持續(xù)發(fā)展目標(biāo)前進(jìn)之際，如不能落實(shí)女童平等教育權(quán)利以及婦女平等權(quán)利，就將無法成功應(yīng)對(duì)未來的挑戰(zhàn)。

Education for girls only possesses the value of itself， but also can promote the development. The first U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues， Melanne Verveer wrote an article specially to explicate the view. The experimental data show that the education of the girls can promote economic growth， the increase of agricultural production and the improvement of labor productivity. Educated mothers are more likely to make sure that their babies are vaccinated and get adequate nutrition， and tend to have fewer but healthier children，so that they receive a good education. In addition， educated mothers are more likely to make their children receive education.

The World Bank studies show that， generally speaking， an extra year of primary education in addition to average number of primary education which can make a person’s salary in the future increased by 5% to 15%， and girls’ rate of return is generally higher than boys’； tan extra year of secondary education in addition to average number will can make a person’s salary in the future increased by 15% to 25%， it is the same that girls’ rate of return is generally higher than boys’.

Middle school education often provides valuable opportunities for girls to learn healthy behavior. In some countries， for example， the spread of AIDS in uneducated girls is two times faster than in those educated. In some places where child marriage is generally accepted， letting girls go to school is often the best way to prevent such harmful practice.

Obviously， the whole society will benefit from the education of women and girls.

女孩教育不僅本身具有價(jià)值，而且它能推動(dòng)發(fā)展，美國首位全球女性事務(wù)大使梅蘭妮·韋維爾（Melanne Verveer）專門撰文表明此觀點(diǎn)。實(shí)驗(yàn)數(shù)據(jù)表明，增強(qiáng)女孩的教育可以推動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長、農(nóng)業(yè)產(chǎn)量的增加以及勞動(dòng)生產(chǎn)率的提高。而受過教育的母親更有可能確保讓她們的嬰兒接種疫苗和得到適當(dāng)?shù)臓I養(yǎng)，并往往生育較少但更健康的孩子，使他們受到良好的教育。另外，受過教育的母親的孩子更有可能上學(xué)接受教育。

世界銀行的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，整體而言，在平均年數(shù)之外多受一年初等教育，能使一個(gè)人日后的工資平均增加5%到15%，而女童的回報(bào)率通常高于男童；在平均年數(shù)之外多受一年中等教育，則能使一個(gè)人日后的工資平均提高15%到25%，女童的回報(bào)率同樣高于男童。

中學(xué)教育往往還為女孩提供學(xué)到健康行為的寶貴機(jī)會(huì)。例如，在一些國家，艾滋病在未受過教育的女孩中蔓延的速度快兩倍。在童婚被普遍接受的地方，讓女孩繼續(xù)上學(xué)往往是防范這種有害做法的最佳途徑。

很顯然，整個(gè)社會(huì)都會(huì)受益于婦女和女孩的教育。

There is still far to go

我們還需努力

Education is essential to the economic and social development of a country， which has been proved by many facts and figures， and the education of girls is both urgent and important. However， in spite of these benefits and must， in many countries， women are still less educated than men. At present， there are thousands of girls in the world who cannot go to school， these girls， who struggles for a lifetime， will also pass on their hardship to the next generation.

To change this situation， we need to make a change from the people's ideas. The United Nations defined the chance of receiving education equally between men and women as a basic human right . To implement this right， the society， nation， enterprise and related organizations and individuals should make efforts in all aspects. Whether it is from the promotion of the importance or the fundamentality of education， or from the gender equality and the prevalence of women's rights， we have far to go in many areas. This work also needs more efforts for a long time from top to bottom.

In addition to public opinion and ideas， the following up of the law is also essential. In fact， in 1948， the United Nations confirmed children’s rights of receiving education in Declaration of Human Rights， and after that relevant laws and laws have been formulated by different countries to ensure the smooth implementation of child education. In China， the Marriage Law adopted in 1950 stipulated that child marriage is strictly prohibited. As early as 1929， the government of India banned child marriage law， but it did not work. In 1978， the Indian government raised the marriageable age of men and women to 21 years old and 18 years old， but until now， in many parts of India， especially mountain tribes， child marriage is still very popular.

At present， the vast majority of countries and regions have relevant laws （including compulsory primary and secondary education， the abolition of backward customs， etc.） which are highly complete， but the implementation and supervision should be furthered， to prevent the law from becoming empty talk.

教育對(duì)一個(gè)國家的經(jīng)濟(jì)和社會(huì)發(fā)展至關(guān)重要，這是眾多事實(shí)和數(shù)據(jù)都已經(jīng)證明了的觀點(diǎn)，而女童的教育更是既急迫又重要。然而，盡管存在這些益處和必須，在許多國家中女性受教育的程度依然低于男性。就在現(xiàn)在，全世界還有上千萬的女孩沒有學(xué)上，這些女孩，在困苦中掙扎一生，又把她們的困苦傳遞給下一代。

要改變這種狀況，首先需要從民眾觀念上做出改變。聯(lián)合國把男女平等的受教育機(jī)會(huì)定義為一項(xiàng)基本人權(quán)。要推行這項(xiàng)權(quán)利，需要社會(huì)、國家、企業(yè)以及相關(guān)組織和個(gè)人等方方面面的努力。無論是從教育重要性以及基本性的推廣，還是從兩性平等女性權(quán)利的普及，很多地區(qū)做的都還遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠。這項(xiàng)工作還需要從上到下方方面面長時(shí)間的努力。

除了輿論與觀念以外，法律的跟進(jìn)也必不可少。事實(shí)上，在1948年，聯(lián)合國就頒布《人權(quán)宣言》確定了兒童的受教育權(quán)，之后各國相關(guān)法律也相繼出臺(tái)，確保兒童教育的順利實(shí)施。中國在1950年出臺(tái)的婚姻法中規(guī)定了合法結(jié)婚年齡，童婚被嚴(yán)令禁止。早在1929年，印度政府就通過禁止童婚法，然而并未奏效。1978年，印度政府將男女婚齡提高到21歲和18歲，但直到如今，在印度許多地區(qū)，特別是山區(qū)部族，童婚仍舊很盛行。

目前來看，絕大多數(shù)國家和地區(qū)相關(guān)法律（包括強(qiáng)制初等和中等教育，廢除落后習(xí)俗等）都較為完備，然而執(zhí)行和監(jiān)管卻還需要更進(jìn)一步，避免法律淪為空話。

The government's regulations and policies are the guidance for society. Dr. Barbara Herz said， the quickest and most direct way for government to improve girls’ rate of enrollment to school and attendance of school is to reduce the cost of parents for educating their daughters. China， Indonesia and other countries have once regarded the reduction of tuition fees as an important part of the expansion of education reform， so as to achieve the rise of the enrollment rate of primary school girls. Uganda， for example， has increased its enrollment rate by 70% in the late 1990s， after regarding reduction of tuition fee as a major portion of the education reform. Uganda girls’ enrollment rate rose from 63% to 83%， and the enrollment rate of the poorest 1/5 of the girls rose from 46% to 82%. In addition， providing a variety of scholarships， constructing schools in remote areas， providing training teachers and basic materials， etc.， are helpful to promote girls' education.

Schools should also provide more convenient studying environment for girls.Dr. Barbara Herz pointed that in some poverty-stricken areas， water and hygiene facility has hindered the girls from receiving education. It can be seen from the experience of Africa to Asia that if there is no water or sanitation facilities， girls in the menstrual period will not continue to stay in school. This problem is particularly important for improving the school enrollment rate and the attendance rate of girls om secondary school. In addition， in the society where women and girls and men are traditionally separated， making girls in different schools or having different class time with boys in mixed schools can ensure the girls' privacy， and may also play a role in improving the school enrollment rate. In some countries， recruiting and training more female teachers also， to a certain extent， encourages more girls to school.

In the view of the current situation， education for girls， which bears great responsibility， still has far to go. Countries， societies， enterprises and individuals should make more efforts to all deal with the global challenge， and the course to improve people’s living standards and the level of society.

政府的法規(guī)和支持政策是社會(huì)的指向標(biāo)。芭芭拉·赫茲博士（Barbara） Herz表示，政府提高女孩入學(xué)和上學(xué)率的最快和最直接的方式是降低家長教育自己女兒的費(fèi)用。中國、印度尼西亞等國家，曾把削減學(xué)費(fèi)作為擴(kuò)大教育改革的一項(xiàng)重要內(nèi)容，從而實(shí)現(xiàn)小學(xué)女生入學(xué)率的上升。舉例來說，烏干達(dá)在20世紀(jì)90年代后期把削減學(xué)費(fèi)作為重大教育改革的部分內(nèi)容后，小學(xué)入學(xué)率增長了70%。烏干達(dá)女生入學(xué)率從63%升至83%，最貧困的五分之一的女孩入學(xué)率從46%升至82%。除此之外，提供各種獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金、在偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)建造學(xué)校、提供培訓(xùn)老師和基本教材等，都有助于推進(jìn)女童教育。

學(xué)校方面也應(yīng)該為女孩提供更有利的學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境。芭芭拉·赫茲博士提出，在一些較為貧困的地區(qū)，水和衛(wèi)生設(shè)施正在成為阻礙女孩受教育的原因之一，從非洲到亞洲的經(jīng)驗(yàn)表明，如果沒有水和衛(wèi)生設(shè)施，女孩在月經(jīng)期就不會(huì)繼續(xù)留在學(xué)校。這個(gè)問題對(duì)于提高女孩的中學(xué)入學(xué)率和在學(xué)率尤為關(guān)鍵。此外，在部分傳統(tǒng)上將婦女和女孩與男性隔開的社會(huì)，通過讓女孩分上不同的學(xué)校和在男女混合學(xué)校中將女孩的上課時(shí)間與男孩分開以確保女孩的隱私，可能對(duì)提高女孩的入學(xué)率同樣能起到一定作用。在一些國家，招聘和培訓(xùn)更多的女老師，也能在一定程度上鼓勵(lì)更多女孩入學(xué)。

現(xiàn)在看來，女童教育工作依舊任重而道遠(yuǎn)，國家、社會(huì)、企業(yè)和個(gè)人，都應(yīng)當(dāng)為應(yīng)對(duì)這一全球性挑戰(zhàn)、改善公民生活和社會(huì)水平的事業(yè)做出更多努力。