WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

WomenEducationinDevelopingCountries
SebastianCortina
e3CivicHigh


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

Abstract
Womeneducationindevelopingcountriesisveryimportantandneedstobeimproved.Ithas
beenshownthattherearemorewomenandgirlsattendingschoolbuttherearestillmanyissues
inthroughoutnation.Intheessay,differentwaysofimprovementwillshowstability,
accessibility,andenvironmentalissuestowardswomeneducation.Therehasbeenmany
problemsofadvancementstowardswomenindevelopingcountries.Overall,manychangesare
beingmadeforwomentohaveasuccessfullearningexperience.Duetothelackof
improvement,therehasnotbeenmanychangesmade.Although,manybelievethereshouldnot
beanyeducationenhancements,butafoundationforstudentstolearnwillleadtofurthersuccess
inthefuture.
Keywords:womeneducation,stability,accessibility,environment,foundation


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

65milliongirlsareoutofschoolglobally(EFAGlobalMonitoringReport,2012).
Womenseducationindevelopingcountriesneedsnecessaryadvancementstosustainastable,
accessible,environmenttolearn.Formanyyears,womenhavenothadequalrightsasmen,in
thiscasewomenaretreatedsecondpriorityandnotnearlyasimportantasmen.Womenand
girlshavemanyobstacles(includingwork,health,education,etc.)restrictingthemtosucceedin
theworldtoday.Womenseducationisneededgloballytofurtherenhancewomen'ssuccessin
developingcountries.Schoolsdonothavethematerialsneededforastableandreliable
education.Furthermore,theenvironmentaroundschoolsarenotappealingandneitherare
accessibleformanystudents(mainlygirls).Inthesecountries,lowclassandmostmiddleclass
girlsdonothavetherighttoattendschoolsandareforcedtoworkwithlittletonocare.
Although,peoplemayinferthatwomeneducationadvancementsindevelopingcountriesisnot
necessary,womenshouldhavetheopportunitytoattendschoolandachieveaneducation
throughanaccessiblefoundationtolearn.
First,womendonothaveastablelifestyletoattendschoolandcompletetheireducation.
Morethan80%ofyoungwomenindevelopingcountriesarenotabletocompletetheir
secondaryeducation.Womenareforcedtoworkandhavenochoiceofgoingtoschool.Inthe
lessdevelopedregions,manyyounggirlsage514takealargeamountofhouseholdchores,
includingcaregiving,cookingandcleaning,andoldergirlsdosotoanevengreaterextent
statedbyUnitedNationsData(TheWorldsWomen2010:TrendsandStatistics,2010).The
numberofwomenattendingschoolhasgoneupveryslowly,however,therearestillmanyflaws
thatneedtobechangedforgirlsandwomentosucceedintheworldtoday.Thelackof
encouragementtoattendschoolisvitalforastudentslearning.Furthermore,familiesthatdonot


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

havefinancialsupportfortheirchildtoattendschool.Although,mostfamiliesprefersending
theirsonofftoschoolbecausetheyareviewedtomostlikelytosucceedandtheirdaughterto
cleanandcook.Womenseducationstabilityisveryimportantandreflectsonthemnowandthe
upcomingfuture.Inajournalofvocationalbehavior,states,Socialactivitywasrelatedto
femalebutnottomalecareerorientationand,correspondingly,passivitywasariskfactorfor
femalebutnotformalecareerorientation.Genderdifferenceswereaccentuatedinthematterof
careerstability:bothstableandunstablecareersweremorestronglyrelatedtopersonality
characteristicsinwomenthaninmen(PersonalityAntecedentsofCareerOrientedStability
amongWomencomparedtoMen,1999).Throughoutthejournalitshowsthatpersonality
characteristicsimplementsagreatroleinfuturecareers.Personalcharacteristicsareshownto
enhancemorecareeropportunities.Menaremorelikelyacceptedthanwomenbecauseof
characteristicsandsocialstructure.Socialactivitiessuchasschoolrepresentamoredominant
abilitytoexpresscharacteristics.Unlikewomenwhodonthavethechoicetoattendschooland
havethesameopportunities.Womenneedastableenvironmenttoimprovewomensuccessand
theabilitytogotoschool.Furtherresearchisbeingshowntocreatebetterwaystostable
womenseducationforfuturegenerations.
Next,schoolsshouldbemoreaccessibleforgirlsindevelopingcountries.Accessibility
forstudentsisverydifficultduetotheenvironment,longdistances,andlackofmaterialfor
students.Manystudentshavetroubleattendingschoolduetothedistancetheymusttravel.The
disadvantagestowardsfamiliesandstudentswhotravellongdistancestoschool,donotgetthe
necessaryeducationtosucceedinthefuture.Alotofschooldonothavethematerialstosurpass
schoolexpectationsbutstillmakeanefforttolearn.Furthermore,thisreflectsoffthestudent


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

stabilityandonerequiresstabilitytoattendschool,againwomenarenotasfortunateasmenin
thesecountriesanddonotgettheopportunitytogotoschool.Womenarealsonotgiventhe
choicetoattendschoolandaquireaneducation.Manyfamiliesprefertheirsontoachievean
educationwhiletheirdaughtercooksandcleans.Inthebook,HalfTheSky,agirlwhowas
traffickedintoabrothel,TereraiTrentstates,Herfatherwouldsay:Let'ssendoursonsto
school,becausetheywillbethebreadwinnersTereraipleadedtobeallowedtoattend,but
wasntpermittedtodoso(HalfTheSky,2008).Provingthemenaremoreimportantthan
womentheyareshowntobefirstpriority,womenaretaughttocookandcleanwithout
question.Intheworldtoday,womenindevelopingcountriesarestillshownandtaughttohave
nosayinwhattheyaretoldtodo.Womenshouldhavethesameaccessibilityasmenandhave
thechoicetoattendschool.Asanation,oneshouldmakeschoolmorefundableandaccessible
forwomentoachieveaneducation.
Lastly,educationforwomenshouldbeinasafelearningenvironmentforstudents.Many
schoolsindevelopingcountriesdonothaveasafeenvironmentsandneitherhavematerialsor
suppliesforstudentstolearn.Girlsdonothavethesameadvantagesasboysinothercountries
andleadtoalowlearningexperienceinthesetypeofschoolfacilities.Studentsarelesslikelyto
continuetogotoschoolandfinishtheireducation.Manyschoolsdonothavethesuppliesor
teachersforanengagingenvironment.AstudentnamedMalalahadtroublegoingtoschooldue
totheTalibanandwasshotintheheadforattendingschool.Malalawasnotonlyshotinthe
headbuttheTalibanshutdownherschoolbecausetheTalibandidntapprove.TheTaliban
disprovedmanythingsfromwomenandbannedthemtodocertainthings(e.g.theTaliban
bannedwomenfromlaughingoutloud,orwearingwhiteshoes,aswhitewasacolorformen).In


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

theautobiography,IAmMalala,,shestates,Yet,outsidethedoortotheschoollaynotonly
thenoiseandcrazinessofMingora,thecityofSwat,butalsothoseliketheTalibanwhothink
girlsshouldnotgotoschool(IAmMalala,2013).TheTalibandidnotwantgirlstoattend
school.Mennow,havetakenthehabitsofthisandarenowforcingwomentonotgotoschool.
ManywomenintheMiddleEastcannotgotoschoolduetotheissueswiththeTaliban.Asfor
now,therearestillmanyterroristgroupswhostillbelieveinthesameconceptofwomennot
attendingschoolorasequal.
Although,peoplemayinferthatwomeneducationadvancementsisnotnecessary,there
needstobechange.Thenumberofwomenattendingschoolarerisingbutcompletingschoolis
stillanissue.Womenindevelopingcountriesneedasustainable,accessibleenvironmentto
learn.Educatorsmayconcludethataccessibleenvironmentalissuesdonotexist.Astableand
accessibleenvironmentcanencouragewomentoattendschoolmoreoftenandhaveanarea
wherewomenarenotpenalizedtogotoschool.Although,manymaythinkthatthefundingfor
schoolsissufficient,itisnot.Inpovertyareas,girlsdonothavetheessentialstolearn.
Lowincomefamiliesdonotgetthestabilitythatisneededforanadequatelearningexperience.
Educationforwomenwillnotimprovecorrectlyifitdoesnotshowchangeintheseproblems.
Ultimately,peoplemayinferthatwomeneducationinadevelopingnationisnot
necessarybutanaccessiblefoundationforwomentohavetheopportunityofacquiringan
education.Formanyyears,womenaretreatedunfairlyandunequallyagainstmen.Theydonot
haveastable,accessibleenvironmenttoattainaneducation.Asaresultmanywomendonot
havetheskillstoreadnorwrite.Thenumberofwomenattendingschoolsisincreasingbut
succeedingisthechallenge.Womeneducationindevelopingcountrieswillimprovedrastically,


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

consideringthateveryonewillbetreatedfairlyandwomenwillnolongerhavetofightfortheir
educationandcanacceptgoingtoschool.Educationchangesarehappeningeverywhereand
shouldbemonitoredthroughouttheyearsaswomenwillequallybeaspowerfulasmeninthe
nearfuture.


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

References
Kristof,N.D.,&WuDunn,S.(2009).
Halfthesky:Turningoppressionintoopportunityfor
womenworldwide
.NewYork:AlfredA.Knopf.
AbooknamedHalfTheSky,byNicholasKristofandSherylWuDunnhavewrittena
bookaboutwomenindevelopingcountrieswhoaretreatedunfairly.Truestoriesabout
sexualabuseandharassment.Womenlosetheirrightsandsextraffickedallaroundthe
world.Notabletoestablishaneducationandhavelimitedrights.Theyareviewedpoorly
inthiscountrywithoutanyfairandjusticerights.Inthenovel,womenaremistreatedand
aremainlyforcedintosextrafficking.Notmanyofthemhaveachoiceandareunableto
formaproperwayofliving.
Manywomenhavebeentraffickedtheirwholelife.Without
anychanceofschoolingorincome,theyarereleasedusuallywhenhavinganincurable
disease,AIDSorHIV.Womensufferwithoutanyonelookingtwice.Throughout,these
entries,womenarenotabletogotoschoolnorfindasourceofincome.Womenare
forcedandhavenochoiceofleaving,thesewomenhavestrugglesestablishingan
educationandfinancialstability.Inthebookwomenaremistreatedwithoutanystop
fromauthorities.Womenseducationisapriorityindevelopingcountriesandestablish
strictlawsthatforcesbrothelandotherharmfulbusinessestoclose.
Pulkkinen,L.,Ohranen,M.,&Tolvanen,A.(1999,February).PersonalityAntecedents
ofCareerOrientationandStabilityamongWomenComparedtoMen.RetrievedMarch
20,2016,from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879198916530


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

Inthisjournal,thethreejournalisthadspokenabouttheneedsandandimportanceof
schoolsindevelopingcountries.Alsostatingthattheirhasbeenmanyissuesbetweengirl
andboycharacteristicsinschoolandathome.Showingthatboyshaveahigherchanceof
findingacareerandstablelifestyle,whilegirlsarentemotionallyandphysicallystable
tomaintainacareer.Alsostatingthequalityofschoolsandthefundingprograms.Even
thoughtherearefewgoodqualityeducation,therearestillschoolwithoutthesame
stabilityandcantrelyonotherfoundationstohelpthem.Unlikeschoolwhoare
wellfunded,manyoftheschooldonothavethematerialandresourcestheyneed.Many
youngadultsarenotfullyqualifiedtobeteachersandaremainlylookingforasourceof
income.Studentsneedtobetaughtaccuratelyandneedthestability,accessibility,and
environmenttolearn.Thejournalexplainswaystoimproveeducationindeveloping
countriesandhelpfindsolutionsfundingschools.Also,approachinganewstyleof
learningandskillsthatwilldevelopinstudentshelpingimprovefutureeducation.
QuickFactsAboutEducation.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch20,2016,from
http://www.compassion.com/poverty/education.htm
Top10FactsYouDon'tKnowAboutGirls'Education.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch20,2016,from
http://abcnews.go.com/International/10factsgirlseducation/story?id=20474260
ABCNewshasmadeanengagingremarkongirlseducationindevelopingcountries.
ABCNews,hasalsostatedfactsabouttheeducationproblemsindevelopingcountries.
Explainingideaandsolutionfixingeducationandtheeconomy.ABCNews,
mentionedthebookIAmMalala,toincludeissuesandimportancetowomen
education.Countrieswithouttherightresourcesandmindsetcannotpushforwardand


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

10

buildabetterfuturefortheagenerationofstudents.ABCNewsexplains,thatwomen
notonlyworkdailybutafteralongdaythereisnorest,fromworkinginfields,to
cleaningandcooking.Withouttheprivilegeofattendingschool.ABCNewsalso
states,thatadvancingeducationforwomenindevelopingcountrieswillimprovethe
economyimmensely.Morewomenattendingschool,birthinareasfall,incomeandfood
productionincreases.Womenhaveabilitytocompletelychangethefutureforfurther
nations.Throughoutthearticle,itdoesnotonlyshowideasbutsolutionsofimproving
educationsystemsindevelopingcountries.Makingitmorestableandaccessiblefor
womentoexcelinschoolandachievegreater.Inthenews,ithasshownmanywaysto
improveeducationandhasexplainedtheunfairnessofallwomenindeveloping
countries.
UnitedNationsStatisticsDivisionDemographicandSocialStatistics.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch
06,2016,from
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/Worldswomen/
Executivesummary.htm
TheUnitedNationsData(UNData)hasshownthedemographicsandsocialstatisticsof
womenindevelopingcountries.TheUNdataspecializestocarryinformationofthe
ongoingworldandsocialstructures.Throughoutthedataithasshown,environments,
work,health,andeducationforwomenindevelopingcountries.Thedatahasshown
outputsofsocialstructureandwomenindevelopingnations.Womenarenotseenas
priorityandaretreatedlessequallythanmen.Womendonotgetthesamefairnessand
justiceasmen,womenoftenworklaborjobsandcleanathome.Throughoutthedata,it
hasshowntheeffectsofwomeneducationandissuesinvolvingmenandwomenpriority.


WOMENEDUCATIONINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

11

Womeneducationisnotrequiredandaremissguidedbymen.UNdatashowswayto
solveproblemsintheeducationsystemforwomen,thesesolutionshaveimprovedthe
numberofwomengoingtoschoolandachievinganeducationtofurthertheirfuture
schooling.Womenarehavinggreateropportunitiestocompletetheirschoolingandhave
financialsupporttodoso.
Yousafzai,M.,&Lamb,C.(n.d.).
IamMalala:Thegirlwhostoodupforeducationandwas
shotbytheTaliban
.
Inthebook,IamMalala:TheGirlWhoStoodUpforEducationandWasShotbythe
Taliban,MalalawantedtoacquireaneducationbutwasshotbytheTaliban.Malala
couldntgotoschoolduetotheTalibanthatenforcedrulestokeeppeople(mainlygirls)
outofschools.Sheisachildren'sandfemalesrightsactivisttospreadawarenessand
fightforfemalesrightstoeducation.Malalanowhasafoundation,calledTheMalala
Fund,tosupportgirlswhoaredeprivedofaneducationindevelopingcountries.Inthe
book,Malalashowscourageandstrengthtofightforwomen'sequalityandrightsto
education.Malalahasalsomadewaystoimprovetheeducationsystemtostructurean
accessibleandstableenvironmentforchildrentolearn.Throughoutthebook,Malalahas
hadanimpactfuljourneytoachieveaneducation,Malala,nowhassuccessfullyimproved
womensrightsandeducationforgirls.Sheisrolemodeltoallandhasimpactedusto
takefurthereducationadvancementsindevelopingcountries.