GIRL'S EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT

 Inadequate and unhealthy education facilities, including sanitation, and a lack of an equitable and quality learning atmosphere

A poor school atmosphere can make it difficult for girls to attend school and can have a negative effect on the level of education they get. The educational atmosphere encompasses not just the physical infrastructure of the school, but also the learning environment as a whole.

According to international human rights legislation, the school atmosphere must not obstruct the right to education and must also contribute to the goals of education and the right to a high-quality education by fostering an inclusive and welcoming learning environment. The following are some of the most common learning experience barriers:

• School curriculum, instructional tools, and training techniques (pedagogies) that are unequal (see above sections on international human rights law and gender stereotypes) 

• A teasing society (see above section on gender-based violence against women and girls)

• Regulations of schools and sexist dress codes, such as the prohibition of religious symbols in schools

The shortage of female teachers, especially in low and middle income countries, is perhaps one of the most important obstacles to an equitable and high-quality learning environment, which is itself a reflection of historical lack of access to education and negative gender assumptions regarding women's roles. The rise of female teachers has a positive effect on girls' education because:

Any conservative cultures exclude their daughters from being taught by a male teacher.

• The role of women in schools will have a positive effect on girls' retention and achievement.

• Women teachers should serve as lobbyists for girls in school reform, expressing their views and interests and encouraging more girl-friendly learning.

• Women teachers provide children with new and different role models, helping to dispel negative gender roles.

In terms of the physical school atmosphere, lack of toilets, gender-segregated toilets, changing facilities, and access to clean drinking water can deter girls from attending school. Lack of toilets, especially gender-segregated toilets, affects both girls and boys, but the effect is overwhelmingly felt by girls due to their unique needs.

Girls need toilets for menstrual hygiene, which requires access to sanitary supplies, without which girls often skip school due to the social stigma associated with menstruation, as well as being unable to focus in class. According to the Guardian, girls from low-income households in the United Kingdom often leave school because they cannot afford sanitary supplies and do not inquire for them due to the social shame associated with menstruation.

Since they are mostly unsupervised, toilets, especially non-gender segregated toilets, are where girls are most vulnerable to school-related gender-based abuse.

So, if we want to change this, we need to focus on the basic standards of the educational institutes. 

                                         -CHHAVI KHADGWAT