What Are Some Statistics of Girls’ Education in South Asia?

Girls’ education in South Asia is improving. In 2006, 10.3 percent of girls (ages 11-14) in one South Asian country were not attending school. In 2018, that number had declined to only 4.1 percent. It is becoming more acceptable in this region for girls to attend school. This is due in part to the Right to Education (RTD) Act that guaranteed free education to all children in this country until age 14.[1] However, there is still a long way to go to see that this act is enforced.

What is keeping some girls from attending school in South Asia?

• Because of financial strain on the family, many girls from poor families are made to do housework instead of attending school. Often, mothers go to the fields to do agricultural work to help with the family’s income, which leaves the housework to the daughters of the family.[2]
• Marriage also keeps girls from education. In some countries of South Asia, as many as 47 percent of girls are wed before the age of 18 preventing them from attending school.[3]
• Another hinderance to girls’ school attendance is proper sanitation and hygiene awareness after they start menstruating. There is little education for girls about what is happening in their bodies and the girls often assume they are shameful or unclean. Additionally, there is often little access to sanitary products and toilets are not always available at school.[4]
• In some areas, the walk to school is too far and bus fare is too high for families to prioritize school attendance by girls. In one area where the trek to school was over 4 miles, the government provided bicycles to the students and the number of girls in school grew from 175,000 to 600,000 in just four years![5]