The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has conducted a report to examine the impact of education and skills training on women’s and girls’ empowerment, focusing on unreached women and girls participating in their GIRLS Inspire project in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has conducted a report to examine the impact of education and skills training on women’s and girls’ empowerment, focusing on unreached women and girls participating in their GIRLS Inspire project in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
The “Reaching the Unreached” (RtU) project is funded by the Australian government and aims to reach women and girls in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan who have been prevented from going to school by cultural, family, economical and geographical barriers.
It provides training and education in market-demanded skills and connects participants to sustainable livelihood opportunities.
Data was collected during activities that took place to train female participants, with the report documenting the baseline-endline study of the organisation’s RtU project.
By comparing the baseline and endline data on women’s and girls’ empowerment, the report found that poverty, child marriage and restrictions on attending school imposed by family were the main reasons for women and girls dropping out of school.
It also found that a female student’s desire for tertiary education directly correlated with their final level of schooling.
COL President and CEO, Asha Kanwar, said: “This is a valuable report because it not only gives us hard data about the number of girls trained, but also presents human interest stories which show the impact that the RtU project has had on the lives of the girls and their families.”
