Marion C. Garetty once said, “A mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.” Female role models show us that it is possible to do anything that we put our minds to, no matter how daunting or challenging our obstacles may be. Having a strong female role model growing up as a girl means knowing that there is room for us in the workforce, we do deserve equal pay and that women can do almost everything as well as, if not better than, men. When we were growing up, going to school may have seemed like a chore at times. There are so many other things that I wanted to do as an eight year old instead of learning cursive and memorizing my times tables. Nevertheless, we all persisted and most of us are now in college completing our education. I don’t know exactly where I would be if I weren’t given the educational opportunities that have gotten me here. Many people may be surprised to know that about 93% of the world’s population has not earned their college degree. As collegiate women, most of us will have the privilege of earning a college degree sometime in the next four years.
Other girls aren’t as lucky. 70% of all the uneducated people in the world are girls, and two thirds of illiterate adults in the world are made up of women. Without an education, many girls are forced into marriage at as young as twelve. In Central African Republic, 68% of girls were documented to be married by the time they were 18. With child marriage comes the possibility of young girls falling pregnant and even dying in the process of childbirth because of how small their bodies are. Complications in both pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of female deaths between the ages of 15-19 worldwide.
When we educate girls, we give them chances that they couldn’t dream of if they were to stay inside to tend to the home. Girls who get an education will marry later, have fewer children, earn higher wages and live healthier lives. Educating girls can help economies by increasing countries productivity through educated women joining the workforce. Some countries lose up to 1 billion dollars a year by not educating their girls. In terms of health, a child who is born to a mother that is literate is 50% more likely to live past the age of five. In past years, the use of female education has been able to prevent over four million child deaths. This is because a mother who is educated knows more about hygiene and how to prevent sickness through germs. They also have lower chances of becoming pregnant as a teenager if they are in school, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have reported the birth rates to be four times lower for women with secondary education.
What it comes down to is that educating women is important. Even more so for women living in third world countries where poverty levels are high. Education builds economies, prevents child marriage and decreases the likelyhood of child death.
When we empower females, we are empowering mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters; and when we support women’s education, we are supporting a future where women can work jobs alongside men and raise their children to lead a life of happiness. As educated women, we know that anything we want to do is possible if we put our mind to it, it’s time to share that power.
To learn more about the importance of women’s education, check out these cool sites:
https://circleofsisterhood.org/