The study discusses why refugee girls need education, the magnitude of the challenges, the barriers, and strategies for assisting refugee girls in returning to school.
Education is a basic human right. However, it remains an ambition for millions of women and girls in the refugee population. Limited access to education hinders the ability of refugee girls to reconstruct their lives, defend themselves from violence, and take a leadership role in moulding their communities’ lives. Hence, the study discusses why refugee girls need education, the magnitude of the challenges, the barriers, and strategies for assisting them to return to school.
Why Educate Refugee Girls
The higher the level of education, the greater the benefits.
The empowerment of refugee girls and the future prosperity of their communities depends on ensuring that they have access to education.
A better chance of economic and social advancement.
Refugees get empowered by learning about their rights and how to assert them.
As a Defence Mechanism.
Education decreases girls’ susceptibility to exploitation, child marriage, and adolescent pregnancy. Educated moms are more inclined to send their kids to school.
The scale of the challenge
Ensuring refugee girls are given access to education.
Refugee females are half as likely as their male counterparts to attend secondary school. Getting into school for refugee children throughout the globe is a lot more complicated than it is for non-refugee.
Barriers
Cost.
Refugee girls are often at a significant disadvantage in opportunity costs.
Social and cultural expectations.
Communities believe there is no need to educate girls, especially where teenage pregnancy and child marriage are the norms.
Unwelcoming schools.
Lack of clean water, toilet facilities, and menstrual hygiene products force refugees and host community members to miss out on school.
Strategies
Schools must make space for girls.
More school spaces for refugee girls are urgently required.
Refugee girls need protection.
School trains and improved transportation, such as all-girl buses, may influence whether or not refugee girls are permitted to attend school. Additionally, boarding schools for girls and hostels have proven to be safe.
Adjusted to girl’s needs.
No girl should miss school because they lack private and safe toilets or menstrual hygiene products.
Schools should be safe spaces.
- There can be no room for harassment, violence, and gender-based bullying.
- Teachers require training to guard and promote best practices against bad behavior.
Encouragement and incentives for refugee Families
Refugee families need encouragement and incentives to keep girls in school.
More female Teachers
Students need to be motivated by an educated woman in the classroom.
Women and girls must be provided with the education to become future leaders. There are many reasons why refugee girls need to be educated. This article discusses how to support them in returning to school by providing remedial, enrichment, or mentorship programs to catch up and succeed academically and emotionally.
Reference
Grandi, F. (2018). Her Turn: Why it is time to educate refugee girls. UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Web.