BETTER LIFE FOR GIRLS BETTER LIFE FOR GIRLS We will help make sure everyone has fair access to quality education.to this end, Korea will push forward the Better Life for Girls initiative.this aims to tackle gender inequality in learning and help girls in developing countries unlock their full potential. UN high-level event of the Global Education First Initiative, President of South Korea Park Geun-hye WHY GIRLS RIGHTS MATTER? Barriers to Girls Education LACK OF AWARENESS ON GIRLS' EDUCATION NO MONEY FOR ABSENCE OF GENDER-SEPARATED TOILET AT SECONDARY BABY GIRLS BORN PRIMARY GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE CHILD HOUSEHOLD MARRIAGE CHORES Education: Despite global progress toward the achievement of universal primary school education, many girls are still out of school or struggling to stay in school. As poor families tend to put boys in school first, girls are often left out of education. Even if they get in school, they are more likely to drop out of school, being forced to work and help their families. Health: Many girls in developing countries face unsafe walks or violence on the way to school. Early marriage, pregnancy and violence pose significant constraints on girls who wish to continue their education. Lack of proper hygiene facilities in school and gender-based violence undermine girls access to safe learning environment. Moreover, in some countries, more than half of girls are forced into marriage in which they cannot exercise any rights in making free and responsible reproductive choices that affect their whole lifetime. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea Profession: For many girls, technologies and tools essential for work are out of reach due to low literacy and shortage of time and money. Despite some progress, young women still face more difficult transition to paid work and receive lower wages than men. This prevents women from playing a meaningful role in photo by LEE SOO JUNG Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea resolving poverty and limits their participation in economic and social life.
BETTER LIFE FOR GIRLS We will help make sure everyone has fair access to quality education.to this end, Korea will push forward the Better Life for Girls initiative.this aims to tackle gender inequality in learning and help girls in developing countries unlock their full potential. UN high-level event of the Global Education First Initiative, President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye WHY GIRLS RIGHTS MATTER? Barriers to Girls Education LACK OF AWARENESS ON GIRLS' EDUCATION ABSENCE OF GENDER-SEPARATED TOILET AT NO MONEY FOR BABY GIRLS BORN PRIMARY SECONDARY GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE CHILD MARRIAGE HOUSEHOLD CHORES Education: Despite global progress toward the achievement of universal primary school education, many girls are still out of school or struggling to stay in school. As poor families tend to put boys in school first, girls are often left out of education. Even if they get in school, they are more likely to drop out of school, being forced to work and help their families. Health: Many girls in developing countries face unsafe walks or violence on the way to school. Early marriage, pregnancy and violence pose significant constraints on girls who wish to continue their education. Lack of proper hygiene facilities in school and gender-based violence undermine girls access to safe learning environment. Moreover, in some countries, more than half of girls are forced into marriage in which they cannot exercise any rights in making free and responsible reproductive choices that affect their whole lifetime. Profession: For many girls, technologies and tools essential for work are out of reach due to low literacy and shortage of time and money. Despite some progress, young women still face more difficult transition to paid work and receive lower wages than men. This prevents women from playing a meaningful role in resolving poverty and limits their participation in economic and social life.
photo by LEE SOO JUNG
WHAT IS BETTER LIFE FOR GIRLS INITIATIVE? RIGHT TO HEALTH RIGHT TO EDUCATION GIRLS FA M I LY COMMUNITY RIGHT TO PROFESSION Better Life for Girls Initiative pays targeted attention to girls education, health and profession. As emphasized in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this initiative takes a holistic and gender-focused approach to empower girls and reinforce their position. Under the Better Life for Girls Initiative, the Korean government pledged 200 million US dollars over the next five years (2016-2020) to put girls on the path of sustainable empowerment. Better Life for Girls Initiative consists of 3 pillars : Girls Right to Education, Girls Right to Health and Girls Right to Profession. The initiative aims to empower girls in diverse social and economic respects to equip them with knowledge and skills essential to fully participate in society and make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. Another important element of the initiative is to raise public awareness about education and health of girls to garner support from families, schools and communities. Better Life for Girls will contribute to the realization of SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. HOW WILL WE REACH OUR GOALS? Two-track Approach: We adopt the Two-track approach, comprising of: 1 Targeting girls only 2 Supporting girls and boys alike. The combination of these two will increase effectiveness and sustainability of the programs. Empowering Change-makers: Girls, Teachers, and Communities: We consider girls as main partner in every step to make changes they want. In addition to supporting girls, Better Life for Girls will build the capacity of teachers to support girls empowerment. The initiative will engage communities in promoting gender awareness and lay the foundation for socio-cultural norms that listen to and reflect girls voices and concerns. Reinforcing Partnership: Better Life for Girls represents a huge opportunity to forge comprehensive alliances to bring together Korea and partners to collectively think about how to help girls continue learning, stay healthy and realize their full potential in society. Better Life for Girls requires a range of partnerships among public and private stakeholders across different sectors including education, health and rural development. Key stakeholders that will carry the initiative forward include Ministries of Education; Gender and/or Women s Affairs; Health; Youth; Technology; Finance, as well as multilateral organizations and civil society organizations. A baby girl born today will still face inequality and discrimination, no matter where her mother lives. We must commit to her right to live free from the violence that affects one in three women globally; to equal pay for equal work; to an equal say in the decisions that affect her life; and to her fundamental right to decide if and when she will have children, and how many she will have. To every girl born today, and to every woman and girl on the planet, our message is that human rights are not a dream. They are a duty for which we must all work until they are universally realized. UN Commemoration of International Women s Day 2014, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Girls Right to Education Primary School Students Studying in IT Lab, Bangladesh OUR PROGRAM focuses on delivering quality education for learning outcomes, and providing inclusive education for disadvantaged groups. Quality education for learning outcomes promotes basic learning competencies through the professional capacity building of teachers. Inclusive education for disadvantaged girls specifically targets marginalized out-of-school girls, especially in crisis and post-conflict situations. 1 2 Quality education for learning outcomes Promote professional teacher training to build capacity for effective pedagogy and gender awareness education. Improve girls reading comprehension and math skills through the development of curriculums, instructional materials and textbooks. Raise awareness of parents and communities on girls rights to education. Inclusive education for disadvantaged groups Support educational opportunities to out-of-school girls, especially girls in crisis and post-conflict situations. Lower economic barriers that constrain girls education through material and financial supports.
Girls Right to Health photo by CHOI, SEOK-JIN Girls Enjoying Sports Activities in School, Cambodia OUR PROGRAM aims to lay the foundation for healthy school for girls and promote youth-friendly community health services. Healthy school for girls promotes safe and healthy learning environment through such measures as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and nutrition support. Sexual and reproductive health education is also important for girls empowerment in terms of protecting their health and well-being. Youth-friendly community health services provide necessary sexual and reproductive education and services for girls. 1 2 Healthy school for girls Improve learning environment by supporting sanitary facilities for girls and creating safe and girl-friendly school conditions. Provide life skills education focusing on key hygiene, nutrition behaviors, sexual and reproductive health in school and community. Youth-friendly community health service Promote gender awareness against child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and gender-based violence at community-level by carrying out awareness-raising campaigns in partnership with CSOs and governments. Strengthen the capacity of community health workers for sexual and reproductive health education. Prevent violence against girls and provide targeted assistance to the victims of gender-based violence.
Girls Right to Profession Electronic Vocational Training Center for Women Supported by KOICA-GIZ-Samsung Electronics, Ghana OUR PROGRAM aims to contribute to the socio-economic empowerment of girls and young women. Girls equipped with right skills would have more opportunities for decent work. Thus, developing technical skills combined with leadership and entrepreneurship is essential to enhance their employability and economic self-reliance in the future. 1 2 Skills and technology for work Provide development of new curriculum and learning resources to make Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs more relevant and responsive to market demands. Strengthen partnerships with local companies and employers to provide girls with appropriate education and training relevant to market demands. Life skills for empowerment Strengthen the proficiency in ICT and accounting to boost girls employability and foster entrepreneurship. Provide leadership coaching and mentorship opportunities to empower girls. Improve rural women s life skills through training in production, and functional literacy.
BETTER LIFE FOR GIRLS BETTER LIFE FOR GIRLS We will help make sure everyone has fair access to quality education.to this end, Korea will push forward the Better Life for Girls initiative.this aims to tackle gender inequality in learning and help girls in developing countries unlock their full potential. UN high-level event of the Global Education First Initiative, President of South Korea Park Geun-hye WHY GIRLS RIGHTS MATTER? Barriers to Girls Education LACK OF AWARENESS ON GIRLS' EDUCATION NO MONEY FOR ABSENCE OF GENDER-SEPARATED TOILET AT SECONDARY BABY GIRLS BORN PRIMARY GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE CHILD HOUSEHOLD MARRIAGE CHORES Education: Despite global progress toward the achievement of universal primary school education, many girls are still out of school or struggling to stay in school. As poor families tend to put boys in school first, girls are often left out of education. Even if they get in school, they are more likely to drop out of school, being forced to work and help their families. Health: Many girls in developing countries face unsafe walks or violence on the way to school. Early marriage, pregnancy and violence pose significant constraints on girls who wish to continue their education. Lack of proper hygiene facilities in school and gender-based violence undermine girls access to safe learning environment. Moreover, in some countries, more than half of girls are forced into marriage in which they cannot exercise any rights in making free and responsible reproductive choices that affect their whole lifetime. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea Profession: For many girls, technologies and tools essential for work are out of reach due to low literacy and shortage of time and money. Despite some progress, young women still face more difficult transition to paid work and receive lower wages than men. This prevents women from playing a meaningful role in photo by LEE SOO JUNG Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea resolving poverty and limits their participation in economic and social life.