Running head: FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 1

Female Education in Developing Countries

Megan McLane

e3 Civic High
FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 2

Abstract

Many women across the world do not have access to an education. This can be because of a lack

of access where they live, but it could also be because of their culture. The book, Half the Sky, by

Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, discusses five main topics. The topics are gender-based

violence, sex trafficking and intergenerational prostitution, maternal mortality, female economic

empowerment, and female education. This work will demonstrate that while building new

schools may seem like an effective solution to increase the amount of children who go to school,

children could benefit more from other projects that are more focused on their health.

Keywords: women, education, developing countries, health, schools

FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 3

Female Education in Developing Countries

Many girls around the world face difficulties in getting an education. There are many

reasons a girl in a developing country might not be able to go to school: The nearest school is too

far for her to walk by herself, she is needed at home to help her family, or the school fee is too

expensive for her family to pay. According to UNICEF, "An estimated 31 million girls of

primary school age and 32 million girls of lower secondary school age were out of school in

2013" ("Girls' Education, 2015). Donations from people in other countries help, but it can be

hard to know what is the most effective use of the money. In many instances, projects that were

meant to provide help to communities in developing countries failed or did not produce the

results that were expected. In other cases, the end result of the project left a community, or a

group of people in a community, in a situation worse than how they started. It is extremely

important to avoid these outcomes, especially when they are related to the education of girls.

Although it is commonly believed that building new schools in developing countries is the best

way to increase the amount of girls who are able to attend school, we have learned the most

effective outcome is actually to create ways for existing schools to ensure their students will

have good physical health so that they can attend school instead of missing it when they are

unwell.

Deworming is an effective and inexpensive way to increase attendance in schools. In

developing countries, many children have intestinal worms (Kristof & WuDunn, 2014). These

parasites can affect a childs body as well as their abilities in school. Students with intestinal

worms do worse in school than students without them. Also, as worms can cause anemia, they

especially affect girls, who due to menstruation, are more prone to anemia (Kristof & WuDunn,
FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 4

2009, p. 171). This is also much cheaper than building new schools: "Increasing school

attendance by building schools ends up costing about $100 per year for every additional student

enrolled. Boosting attendance by deworming children costs only $4 per year per additional

student enrolled" (Kristof & WuDunn, 2009, p. 171-172). In the developing world, deworming

students is one of the easiest ways to increase attendance.

School feeding programs are another effective way to encourage better attendance. When

food is provided to students and their families, students are more likely to attend school. In poor

communities, parents are encouraged to keep their children in school knowing that they will be

fed. One study found that the school feeding program increased enrollment by 14.2 percent

(Adelman, Gilligan, & Lehrer, 2008, p.25). Another part of school feeding programs is

take-home rations. If a student has met a minimum attendance requirement their family is given a

ration. With feeding programs, families are incentivized to educate their children. This is

especially beneficial to girls as their educations are usually seen as less valuable than their male

siblings in some countries.

Another way to increase attendance among girls is to provide them ways to manage their

menstruation. Because it is common in developing countries to not have access to sanitary

protection, they might choose not to go to school when they are menstruating (Kristof &

WuDunn, 2009, p.172). Additionally, girls might not have access to a toilet at school. Even if the

school has a toilet, "many are lacking in water and therefore do not meet the basic health and

hygiene requirements for educational institutions" and most are not separate for girls and boys

(Kirk & Sommer, 2006, p. 7). Lastly, a girl could also fear that she will stain her clothes at

school. Not only are the stains embarrassing, but girls of poorer families might not be able to
FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 5

afford soap to regularly clean their clothes. By providing sanitary protection and building toilets

for schools, more girls will be able to regularly attend school.

Counter Argument

Although these all seem like good ways to keep female students in school, some people

will have doubts about if they really are effective. As stated before, there have been many times

where programs with good intentions have not reached the intended outcome. In some cases,

what was meant to help people instead hurt people because it was not completely thought out.

For example, the UNICEF and the World Food Programs school feeding program was originally

intended to be used to improve childrens nutrition. However, instead of children getting more to

eat, parents realized that they could spend less on feeding their children at home (Kristof &

WuDunn, 2014). One could say that the program failed because the children were not getting fed

as much as was the original goal. But there was another positive outcome. Because it helped

them save money the families were more likely to send their girls to school. A project started in

Africa by the company FemCare had a similar problem with what looked to be a simple solution

turning out to be more complex. To help African girls manage their menstruation better, they

decided to distribute free pads. They soon ran into problems. FemCare ended up paying to build

bathrooms in schools that did not have any and even had to provide special ways to dispose of

the pads in some schools (Kristof & WuDunn, 2009, p.172). These examples can be used by

some to argue that projects which focus on the health of students are not effective. However,

while projects like these did not end up the way that they were supposed to, it is important to

learn from these mistakes so that we are still able to reach the end goal.
FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 6

Conclusion

In places where there is a lack of education, new schools are not always the most

effective solution. As we have seen, new schools are not always needed. By providing students

with what they need to stay healthy, students will be able to stay in school longer and miss fewer

days. If we continue with what we know works best and learn from our past mistakes, soon all

children across the world will be able to get an education.

FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 7

Annotated Bibliography

Adelman, S., Gilligan, D., Lehrer, K. (2008). How effective are food for education programs?: A

critical assessment of the evidence from developing countries. Washington, D.C.

International Food Policy Research Institute.

This book describes the effects of food for education programs. The authors first give

information on what food for education programs are, then go on to describe the effects

the programs on students. Food for Education programs provide free meals to students in

order to encourage them to come to school and to do better in school. This book also

addresses criticisms of such programs. Some of the criticisms addressed are that Food for

Education programs are expensive and that the programs may actually distract from

learning. This book is important to this essay as, unlike Half the Sky, which also discusses

school feeding programs, it explains not only the benefits of the programs but the

disadvantages as well.

Girls' education and gender equality. (2015, July 23). Retrieved from

https://www.unicef.org/education/bege_70640.html.

The article, Girls' Education and Gender Equality, on the UNICEF website, explains the

disadvantages girls face in getting an education in many parts of the world. The article

first gives data on how many girls are in school in certain parts of the world, then

explains why the number of girls is so low in some of these areas. These reasons have to

do with access, resources, and culture. UNICEF then explains what it is doing to

empower girls and help them end discrimination. This article is used to illustrate what
FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 8

some organizations are hoping to accomplish and how they are planning to do so.

Kristof, N. D., & WuDunn, S. (2014). A path appears: Transforming lives, creating opportunity.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity by Nicholas Kristof and

Sheryl WuDunn is about the ways that people can make a difference in the world. The

book uses stories to show how even small contributions can benefit someone. For

example, one point brought up throughout the book is that deworming students is one of

the most effective ways to keep them from missing school. This book is a valuable source

for this paper because it can show the most effective ways to make a difference based on

the author's experiences, with a particular interest in educating girls.

Kristof, N. D., & WuDunn, S. (2009). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for

women worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide is about five

major issues for women around the world. The five topics are gender-based violence, sex

trafficking and intergenerational prostitution, maternal mortality, female economic

empowerment, and female education. This book tells the stories of women across the

world. In their time spent in developing countries, Kristof and WuDunn have seen the

effects of female education in communities and have seen the most effective ways to

make education more accessible to all children. This book was chosen as a source

because it tells of the problems women face and offers solutions.

FEMALE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 9

Kirk J., & Sommer M. (2006). Menstruation and body awareness: linking girls health with

girls education. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Special

on Gender and Health, pp. 1-22.

The article, Menstruation and Body Awareness: Linking Girls Health With Girls

Education, by Jackie Kirk and Marni Sommer, explains the connection between girls'

health and their education in the developing world. Some cultural ideas about a woman's

menstruation in certain countries are explained. These views are what keep girls from

going to school. The girls' families may also lack the money to provide them with proper

sanitation. Menstruation and body awareness: Linking girls health with girls

Education uses data from areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. This article

is used as a resource because it shows the direct effect culture and lack of resources can

have on girls' attendance in developing countries.