franceUNDP_GE

Country: France Committee: UNDP Topic: Gender Equality in Education

"Worldwide, for every 100 boys out-of-school there are 122 girls"(worldbank.org). 60% of all the 113 million children currently not enrolled in school are girls. This problem is mainly caused by gender discrimination. Girls have standards set at a different scale than boys. Few girls have the chance to go to school. Poverty and male superiority are some of the main reasons. Women are perceived as the weakest sex thus they are not sent to school and instead forced to work. Some women are forced into nonconsensual marriage because they don't have the education to know that they have a better future. In France, a girl being denied an education is not a big problem. There is a ratio of 55 girls to every 56 boys in school. Primary education is mandatory in France. We are aware that education for both girls and boys and the promotion of gender equality in education is vital to development, ergo we do the best to promote education for both genders. We have signed the Convention on the Rights of Children and we work along with UNICEF to promote education for children worldwide. It is essential to take action because girls worldwide deserve the same opportunity as boys.
 * Country Policy:**

The UN is strongly involved with the protection of children rights and the prevention of child rights infringement. The United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF), Human Rights Watch (HRW), United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the United Nation's Girls' Education Initiative(UNGEI), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural are committees created in order to raise awareness of the violation of women and children's rights around the world and to create partnerships amongst countries to achieve goals of the Millenium Development Goals. Treaties like the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the 1979 Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW). The CRC in Article 2 states, "States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, **sex**, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status." Moreover, Article 28 sets the bar for education of children, "States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all; (b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need; (c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means; (e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates."
 * UN Involvement:**

Women require respect and a higher opportunity in life. Women have the capability to further develop a country. It is essential to provide them with education. We propose a treaty that calls for funding to build schools dedicated to providing another opportunity for women who grew up without an education. Older girls require a second chance. These schools will help them get started on the track to higher position in life. They will give free education to women and girls it poverty-struck communities. However they will be required to spread there knowledge in return for the education. In the form of community service, they can help younger children so that they wont have to live a life without education. Moreover, creating job opportunities for women that contribute to the countries economy will play an enormous role in gaining respect for women. These job opportunities made only for women will show men that women have the same capability as they do. These jobs will range in different fields of studies, and will serve as internships for the career they want to go into after they finish primary and secondary school. Furthermore, education for youth is also very important and the main issue we need to combat. Persevering to obtain the signatures of every country for the CRC is crucial. The CRC will give them standards to follow and it will ensure us that girls will be getting primary education if we take the measures to ensure that the convention is followed.
 * Solutions:**

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