Dear President,

An issue I would like to address today is the lack of education for women globally. Unlike the United States, education isn't available for both genders in many countries. My goal is to be able to inform you on why education for women isn’t encouraged/valued.

Education for women is an important issue. Women who don’t receive an education will have unequal opportunities in work and life. Lack of an education can decrease her family's income, put her at risk for trafficking, and deprives her of a social education.

Certain countries/ religions don’t encourage and/or prevent women from getting an education. Take Ethiopia for example, school is available for girls, but there is a negative attitude towards education. As well as the fact that the textbooks issued are discriminatory and/or gender insensitive. Around 41 percent of women in Ethiopia are married by age 18 - That’s two in every five women. About one in five or around 16 percent of women are married by age 15.

In many countries educated women are undesirable. In poor countries, many families don’t have the money to send both their son and daughter to school. And their are more jobs for men. So, education for men is a higher priority.

A common belief that women are responsible for all household duties reinforces the stereotype that education isn’t a priority. Education for women is also not understood. Why educate a woman when things that need fixing around the house? I’ll tell you why…

Lack of education affects a woman’s life forever. She will never have an equal opportunity in life and work. It can also affect her country’s economic advancement. What is the point of pushing so hard for women’s rights if she doesn’t even have the right to go to school? So women can stay at home and prove the point that a man is more superior? No, a man and woman are equal.

A man may believe that, a woman is expected to work around the house. They only have this knowledge because this was all that they were exposed to. Many men actually refuse to marry an educated women. Women also are needed at home to raise the children. Yes, women have knowledge on how to raise children, but why can’t they also attend school and get an education at the same time?

To solve this problem, we need to encourage girls to go to school. We can do this by promoting general awareness of what can happen if a girl doesn’t attend school. Or if possible, provide funding for countries who don’t have enough money to build schools for girls.

In conclusion, education for women is important. It is vital. We need to do something about this. We can’t be bystanders anymore. The fight for education needs to begin now!

Sincerely,

Emma McFarland