05-23-2003, 01:07 AM
Ground Reality about "Gender Equality"
Executive Director of UNICEF says girls in South Asia âcannot afford to waitâ
Islamabad/New York, Wednesday, 21 May â UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy today arrived in Pakistan, carrying a strong message that until girlsâ education becomes an urgent priority in South Asia, the regionâs economic and social development will be hindered.
Bellamy is in Pakistan for a three-day visit to concentrate attention on education in the region, as part of a global campaign to scale up efforts to achieve the Education for All (EFA) goals.
Today she launched a national initiative to accelerate progress for girlsâ education in Pakistan. Speaking at the launch, Bellamy noted that 7 million Pakistani girls of school-going-age are not in school.
âEach one of these girls is an asset to her country,â Bellamy said. âBut their prospects are dwindling by the day. Every day spent outside of a school is a tremendous loss not only for the girl but for the future of her country.â
Bellamy said she will urge the South Asian Ministers to take immediate action to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of gender parity in primary and secondary schools by 2005. She pointed to the daunting statistics that make this a priority South Asia is home to 43 million out-of-school children. Over half of these children are girls.
Edited by - TheOne on May 22 2003 81048 PM
Executive Director of UNICEF says girls in South Asia âcannot afford to waitâ
Islamabad/New York, Wednesday, 21 May â UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy today arrived in Pakistan, carrying a strong message that until girlsâ education becomes an urgent priority in South Asia, the regionâs economic and social development will be hindered.
Bellamy is in Pakistan for a three-day visit to concentrate attention on education in the region, as part of a global campaign to scale up efforts to achieve the Education for All (EFA) goals.
Today she launched a national initiative to accelerate progress for girlsâ education in Pakistan. Speaking at the launch, Bellamy noted that 7 million Pakistani girls of school-going-age are not in school.
âEach one of these girls is an asset to her country,â Bellamy said. âBut their prospects are dwindling by the day. Every day spent outside of a school is a tremendous loss not only for the girl but for the future of her country.â
Bellamy said she will urge the South Asian Ministers to take immediate action to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of gender parity in primary and secondary schools by 2005. She pointed to the daunting statistics that make this a priority South Asia is home to 43 million out-of-school children. Over half of these children are girls.
Edited by - TheOne on May 22 2003 81048 PM
