How to close the gender gap? Education

Kathmandu, Nepal’s cultural and financial capital, is by most measures the most progressive city in the country. But even here, in most modern households, the majority of help with chores is provided by the young women and girls of the family, whether that be sisters or daughters-in-law. The situation is worse for young girls in more rural areas of the country.

The long-term solution for all these issues, especially in Nepal, is simple: improving girls’ education. In Nepal, literacy rates for girls stand at 42%, compared to 65% for boys.

Educating girls contributes significantly towards them growing up into strong, educated, progressive women who can and will raise their own children in a more gender-balanced manner. This education also helps in solving other related issues such as nutrition, child marriage and trafficking of girls.

Working towards 100% high school education for all girls would be a step in the right direction for closing the gender gap in Nepal.

Author: Utsav Shakya is an editorial manager at ECS Media; he is a Global Shaper in the Kathmandu Hub. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2014 will be released on 28 October.

Image: Palestinian schoolchildren attend a class at a U.N.-run school in Dir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on the first day of the school year August 25, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa