Covid-19 and girls' education
Far from a “great equalizer”,(1) COVID-19 has proven to be an instrument for exacerbating systemic racism, discrimination and sexism around the world.(2) Like many large-scale crises, including war, recession, and hunger – the impacts of this crisis are more severe for women and girls, and the solutions are not one-size-fits-all.² These consequences are amplified for women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings, who may already be facing challenges in access to education, healthcare, employment, safety and more.(3)
The world's response to controlling the spread of COVID-19 has included school closures, which have forced children and parents to stay at home in order to reduce the rate of transmission of the virus. The World Bank reported(3) that as of March 28 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused more than 1.6 billion children and youth to be out of school in 161 countries; UNESCO estimates(4) this is 89% of the total population of students enrolled in education globally, including around 743 million girls.
Lack of access to education for girls can lead to poorer community health outcomes, reduce women’s participation in society, increase child marriage and domestic violence, lower GDP, and more.(5) With pre-existing challenges in accessing formal education for girls in conflict and post-conflict contexts, COVID-19 amplifies these barriers and the systemic gender inequality these girls face. This will, if not responded to effectively, have long-term detrimental effects on societies and economies around the world, in particular those recovering from or affected by conflict.
What does this look like in conflict and post-conflict contexts?
In many cases, schools in the Global North are leveraging technology to support at-home learning and are attempting to support students in accessing that technology(6) should they otherwise not be able to. While this band-aid solution might work in some parts of the world, it may not be easily replicated in other contexts. In countries with little technological infrastructure, inadequate housing, political challenges and high rates of poverty, which can all be direct results of conflict, moving to online learning may not be an option. Without access to this kind of online learning, children are being completely removed from the formal education setting, which will have secondary impacts on the children, their communities and the world more globally.
Over 111 million(4) of those 743 million girls who are out of school as a result of COVID-19 are living in the world’s least developed* countries where accessing education is already difficult.(4) For girls living in refugee camps,(4) for example, this disadvantage is magnified as their ability to access education already poses its own challenges. As a direct result of conflict, refugee girls are displaced from their homes, communities and formal education settings, making it more challenging to continue their education while on the move to safety or while living in refugee camps. A report by UNHCR(8) found that refugee girls are often relied on by their families for domestic work, like carrying water and fuel or taking care of family members. This reliance will only be amplified by COVID-19, with siblings out of school and potentially ill family members to support.
Sitting at the intersections of gender inequality and poverty, insecurity, violence and more, adolescent girls face the greatest risk when their education is disrupted.(8) The enrollment rate of refugee girls is only half of their male classmates, and at times of disruption girls are the most likely to drop out of school, usually to perform domestic and care work, and the least likely to return once the disruption is over.(9) In the face of a global pandemic as girls are being forced out of school, what will this mean for our post-COVID world and for girls’ education long-term?
When it comes to education during, and even after, crisis girls are more vulnerable to certain types of harms, exploitation, violence and marginalisation.(9) During the Ebola crisis in 2015, five million children were affected by school closures across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and poverty levels rose significantly.(6) Several studies(5) have reported that increased school closures led to increased instances of the physical and sexual abuse of young girls. In addition to this, the incidence of transactional sex(5) also increased as families struggled economically amidst this crisis. In Sierra Leone, adolescent pregnancy increased by up to 65% in some communities as a result of this abuse and exploitation. In one study,(10) most girls who had experienced abuse and exploitation reported that it was a direct result of being outside the protective environment provided by schools.
Keeping girls out of school not only has negative effects in the short term, but has long term socioeconomic implications. For example, UNESCO reported(11) that in Pakistan, working women with high levels of literacy skills earned 95% more than women with weak or no literacy skills. With COVID-19 preventing girls from accessing education and developing these literacy skills, the cycle of poverty and low economic empowerment for women is likely to continue. There are also direct links between education and health, for example World Vision reported(12) that increasing a girl’s access to education decreases her risk of contracting HIV and improves future child and maternal health. COVID-19 not only presents its own challenges to community health as a virus, but also indirectly has negative effects on health outcomes for women by limiting their access to education and exacerbating systemic gender inequality, particularly in conflict and post-conflict contexts.
Moving Forward
So how do we learn from, and build on, the response to Ebola and scale positive outcomes as the Global South battles COVID-19? How can local communities, grassroots organisations, governments, NGOs and large corporate organisations work together to ensure a gendered response to the crisis that addresses the systemic challenges to adolescent girls’ access to education? How can we develop culturally relevant responses to the different challenges faced by the Global North and South in the context of this crisis? How do we involve local communities in decision-making processes to ensure local voices are heard? We have historically seen decision making processes exclude women, young people and local voices despite the proven benefits of diversity in leadership.¹³ Asking these questions will be essential in approaching this crisis with an inclusive lens and responding to it in an equitable way.
While I can’t claim to have answers, I hope to ask at least some of the important questions. As a young leader in the Global North, I approach this topic from a privileged perspective but with the intent to inform and mobilize multilateral organisations, governments and communities around the issue of girls’ access to education in a humanitarian context. And to ensure that these organisations engage with and listen to women and youth leaders in the countries and communities needing global support. There needs to be a heightened awareness of not only the primary impacts of this virus, but also at the secondary impacts this can on girls. With COVID-19 intensifying the barriers to girls’ access to education in conflict and post-conflict contexts, prioritizing girls’ return to school post-crisis and expanding their access to support networks and resources will be critical to mitigating the detrimental effects of this crisis.
As the global population begins to strategize and reimagine what a post-COVID-19 world might look like, I urge decision makers to use an intersectional and gendered lens in this ideation process, whilst also inviting the collaborative perspectives of local leaders, women, and youth. Looking to the future, this crisis allows us to set a precedent for what gender-responsive aid could look like and to demonstrate how gender equality is essential to combatting not only COVID-19 but different crises to come.
Avery Johnstone
Avery is a researcher, content creator and digital strategist. After graduating from Queen’s University, Kingston with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies, Avery moved to London, UK to work at Kite insights - a strategic research and communications consultancy focused on gender, climate and partnerships for social impact. Avery currently sits on the Canadian Council of Young Feminists / Conseil canadien de jeunes féministes, an initiative by Canadian Senator Marilou McPhedran.
Previously, Avery has served as a Youth Ambassador to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on topics of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and has sat on the Board of Directors for a regional branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Since her recent move from Toronto to London, Avery has been enjoying exploring the city and it’s many cultural coves, taking a French course at King's College London and attending live music gigs.
Are you interested in contributing to OGIP's Covid-19 Blog series. We are now looking for more diverse mediums - artwork, poetry, podcasts and more. Find out more here.
References
(1) Zemler, Emily. “Madonna Calls COVID-19 the 'Great Equalizer' in Bathtub Rant.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, March 23, 2020. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-covid-19-bathtub-rant-971124/.
(2) Marianne Schnall, “Putting A Gender Lens On COVID-19: Thought Leaders Weigh In,” Forbes (Forbes Magazine, April 17, 2020), https://www.forbes.com/sites/marianneschnall/2020/04/17/putting-a-gender-lens-on-covid-19-thought-leaders-weigh-in/#397ba60d5b23)
(3) Pereznieto, Paola, Aaran Magee, and Nora Fyles. “MITIGATING THREATS TO GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN CONFLICT.” United Nations Girls' Education Initiative, 2017. http://www.ungei.org/resources/files/Girls_in_Conflict_Review-Final-Web.pdf.
(4) “Educational Challenges and Opportunities of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.” World Bank Blogs. Accessed April 29, 2020. https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/educational-challenges-and-opportunities-covid-19-pandemic.
(5) Mahdawi, Arwa. “The Secret Weapon in the Fight against Coronavirus: Women.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, April 11, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/11/secret-weapon-fight-against-coronavirus-women.
(6) “Covid-19 School Closures around the World Will Hit Girls Hardest.” UNESCO, April 8, 2020. https://en.unesco.org/news/covid-19-school-closures-around-world-will-hit-girls-hardest.
(7) Goudge, Alex. “Ottawa School Boards Helping Students without Internet Get Online amidst Pandemic.” OttawaMatters.com. OttawaMatters.com, April 8, 2020. https://www.ottawamatters.com/local-news/ottawa-school-boards-helping-students-without-internet-get-online-amidst-pandemic-2240270
(8) “HER TURN: It's Time to Make Refugee Girls' Education a Priority - UNHCR.” Her Turn: Why it's time to educate refugee girls. Accessed April 29, 2020. https://www.unhcr.org/herturn/.
(9) “How Will COVID-19 Affect Girls and Young Women?” Plan International. Accessed April 29, 2020. https://plan-international.org/emergencies/covid-19-faqs-girls-women.
(10) “39 Million Girls Are at Risk: Are Humanitarian Responses Doing Enough?” TheirWorld. Accessed April 29, 2020. https://s3.amazonaws.com/theirworld-site-resources/Reports/Theirworld-39-million-girls-at-risk.-Are-humanitarian-response-doing-enough.pdf.
(11) Risso-Gill, Isabelle, and Leah Finnegan. “Children’s Ebola Recovery Assessment: Sierra Leone.” Save The Children. Accessed April 29, 2020. https://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/global/reports/emergency-humanitarian-response/ebola-rec-sierraleone.pdf.
(12) “Global Education Monitoring Report.” UNESCO, 2019. https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/.
(13) Bourke, Juliet, and Andrea Espedido. “Why Inclusive Leaders Are Good for Organizations, and How to Become One.” Harvard Business Review, March 30, 2019. https://hbr.org/2019/03/why-inclusive-leaders-are-good-for-organizations-and-how-to-become-one.