1.3 Million Participate in Girls' Education Lesson

"Don't look for the fifth foot of a cat." - Spanish Proverb

1.3 MILLION PARTICIPATE IN GIRLS' EDUCATION LESSON

UNICEF is a leading proponent of education for girls.  In country after country, UNICEF reports, educating girls yields spectacular social benefits for the current generation and those to come.  An educated girl tends to marry later and have fewer children.  The children she does have will be more likely to survive; they will be better nourished and better educated. She will be more productive at home and better paid in the workplace. She will be better able to protect herself against HIV/AIDS and to assume a more active role in social, economic and political decision-making throughout her life.

UNICEF's aim is to get more girls into school, ensure that they stay in school and that they are equipped with the basic tools they need to succeed in later life. As part of its on-going efforts to ensure every girl and boy their right to an education, UNICEF's acceleration strategy is speeding progress in girls' enrollment in 25 selected countries during the 2002-2005 period.

To bring attention to this intitiative, UNICEF sponsored a "Girls' Education: The Biggest Lesson" event in April of this year.  World wide an estimated 1.3 million people participated in this simultaneous lesson.  In Pakistan 450,000 adults and children participated, in India 200,000.  Event organizers, aware of the stigma that keeps many girls from going to school, were thrilled to learn that in many societies where girls' education takes a back seat to that of boys, girls were encouraged to take part in—and lead—the Lesson.   In the nations of Niger, Gambia, and Senegal, girls led lessons to heads of state.

To learn more about the girls' education efforts of UNICEF go to http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/index.html.

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