Education is a global crisis. While Americans worry about skyrocketing college costs, many people around the world don’t even have access to basic education. This problem is worse for girls, who make up more than 60 percent of children not in school according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

On March 3, the Obama administration announced plans to change that by expanding the Let Girls Learn initiative. Founded last summer by the United States Agency for International Development, Let Girls Learn provides education for girls around the world. Now with government support, the initiative will expand its efforts by partnering with the Peace Corps and other organizations.

With the fight for gender equality growing every day, government action could not come soon enough. Let Girls Learn will provide more than just girls’ educations, it will also promote women’s rights worldwide. While education and literacy for all should be our ultimate goal, educating girls has higher stakes and needs to remain our top priority for now.

The USAID’s original campaign made big strides for girls’ education. Now with presidential support, the initiative can take action in even more countries, namely those in the Middle East and Africa. It will take primary school initiatives that are already in place a step further and help adolescent girls finish their secondary education.

This initiative responds to the educational inequality women have always faced. Even in the United States, women have traditionally been denied the equal opportunity to learn.

But while most countries have progressed, inequality still exists around the world. Because of cultural traditions and stereotypes, parents often prevent their daughters from going to school or cannot even afford to send them. This is especially true as a girl gets older — only 30 percent of girls are enrolled in secondary school worldwide, according to Day of the Girl.

While they are less likely to go to school, girls have the most to gain from an education. Let Girls Learn will not only teach traditional math and sciences, but specific skills that each area needs most.

In undeveloped African countries, many girls lack knowledge of basic reproductive health. This can lead to unwanted pregnancies and a high risk for HIV. But in Malawi and 17 other African nations, Let Girls Learn is already educating girls about HIV transmission and ways to improve their reproductive health.

Education itself also has health benefits. With a secondary education, 60 percent fewer girls in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia would become pregnant under the age of 17, according to the USAID.

The USAID also reported that in Middle Eastern countries, one in seven girls is married before age 15. But Let Girls Learn has already begun reversing that statistic, by intervening when students were forced to marry and helping them stay in school instead. With a secondary education, the USAID reports that a girl is six times less likely to marry as a child.

When education transforms girls’ lives, it transforms their nation as well. According to the USAID, for every year a girl stays in secondary school she can earn 10–20 percent more in the future. Education creates a better workforce with higher earnings and can increase a country’s GDP. And an education can open girls’ eyes to injustices in their communities and inspire them to make a change.

These huge goals can’t be accomplished without help. Girls have for a long time been at an educational disadvantage, but developed nations can fix that. With government initiatives like Let Girls Learn, we can bring education to girls who need it and eventually provide equal learning opportunities for all.

Kathryn Krawczyk is a freshman magazine major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at kjkrawcz@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @KathrynKrawczyk.

Published on March 18, 2015 at 11:57 pm