"There are 173 million girls out of the education system worldwide": UNESCO deputy director-general

"Women and men have equal rights. We must be able to exercise these rights without fear and pressure."

As 1news.az reports citing Qafqazinfo, this was stated by UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér in Baku during a special joint session of the 3rd High-Level Meeting of International Organizations and the 6th Ministerial Meeting within the framework of the Baku Process on the topic "From Partnership to Joint Action: Strengthening Global Engagement for Intercultural Dialogue in the Era of Artificial Intelligence."

She spoke about the rights of women and girls, gender equality in education, and opportunities for their participation in public life.

Regnér noted that, despite the formal equality of the rights of women and men, the opportunities of women and girls depend on the circumstances of their birth, income, age, disability, experience of forced displacement, and society's expectations: "In different countries and societies, similar barriers hinder women's participation in public life and their right to a voice in decisions affecting their own lives. Our task is to identify these obstacles and develop ways to overcome them.

Today I want to focus attention on three key areas: education, public discussions, and the process of recovery after crises.

Attitudes toward gender equality are formed at an early age. Therefore, we must first of all focus on education. The Global Education Monitoring Report for 2026 attests to real progress in this area. In many countries, girls and young women outperform boys and young men in academic indicators. At the same time, in an increasing number of countries, gender equality is being ensured in enrollment at the primary and secondary levels of education."

She reported that 173 million girls in the world remain outside the education system: "They face such problems as poverty, early marriage, early pregnancy, and gender-based violence. And in Afghanistan, 2.4 million girls and young women are deprived of the right to study altogether."

UNESCO is doing everything possible to support women and girls through literacy and skills development programs.

"However, ensuring access to education is not enough. We must combat stereotypes that limit girls' aspirations, as well as change the approaches that shape boys' attitudes toward girls and toward gender equality. This is one of the main goals of UNESCO's strategy for ensuring gender equality in and through education.

I believe that we also need to pay special attention to boys. Gender equality concerns both girls and boys. In many countries, boys also face certain difficulties, and we must not lose sight of these problems.

Education can make its contribution to strengthening intercultural dialogue. It creates conditions for the active participation of girls in public life, and also helps them to be perceived as equal individuals," she concluded.