Iraqi Girls Suffer Education Inequities as Sectarian Violence Increases

As violence continues to rage in Iraq, more parents are keeping their children home from school in an attempt to keep them safe. Girl are more likely to be removed from school, according to a press release from the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network.

"The fear of losing their children through violence has led many families to keep their children at home but the number of girls kept at home is higher because in addition to the security problem, they are being forced by their families to assist in household chores," said Sinan Zuhair of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Um Nour Zeid, a mother of four in Baghdad agreed. "Since my husband died I need to work outside the home and someone should stay at home to take care of the youngest children and I have no one but them. It is sad to see my two girls losing their future like this but it is better than losing their lives," she said.

According to Mustafa Jaboury of the Ministry of Education, the ratio of girls attending school in Southern Iraq has dropped to one girl to four boys, down from two girls for every three boys. Educators are worried that low numbers could result in an insurmountable education gap.

In northern Iraq, where violence isn't as widespread, more girls are attending classes, but there is still a gap between male and female attendance, especially outside of larger cities. Joboury said, "The situation is slightly better in the northern provinces but even there it is only in the main towns; in many villages, either girls have never attended school or they have been forced by their parents to leave school. In Baghdad the situation was relatively balanced last year but since the school term began in September, we have observed that the number of girls at primary and secondary schools has dramatically decreased, raising serious concerns for the future of women in this country."

Iraqi educators are concerned that the educational disparity will damage a future where women will be allowed to assume leadership positions. Said Mayada Marouf of NGO Keeping Children Alive, "Families should be aware that taking their girls out of schools to work at home will destroy their future and will have serious repercussions for the future of the nation. Boys and girls should be equally encouraged to get an education."

School attendance has continued to drop since the escalation of sectarian violence. In February 2006, one in six Iraqi children didn't attend school. The number has doubled to two in six, and the Iraqi Ministry of Education expects attendance to drop by 15 per cent for boys and 25 per cent for girls.

Source : UN IRIN Press Release