WOMEN`S DAY

My name is Maya. I was born 14 years ago in a poor peasant family. There were already many children so when I was born no one was happy. When I was still very little, I learned to help my mother and elder sisters with domestic chores. I swept the floor, washed clothes and carried water and firewood. Some of my friends played outside but I could not join them. I was very happy when I was allowed to go to school. I made new friends there and learned to read and write. But when I reached the fourth grade, my parents stopped my education. My father said there was no money to pay the fees. Also, I was needed at home to help my mother and the others. If I were a boy, my parents would have let me complete school. My elder brother finished school and now works in an office in the capital. Two of my younger brothers go to school. Maybe they, too, will finish.

There are 130 million children worldwide who are not in school. Two out of every three of these are girls.

During the past two decades there has been a great increase in the proportion of girls enrolled in schools in developing countries: the percentage of girls in school shot up from 38 to 78 percent.

If a poor family has to pay even a small amount (such as for books and paper) for a child's schooling, it may think twice. A family might think that a daughter can help around the house to clean and cook, to collect wood and water, and look after younger children. Even if she does go to school, the family might consider how little opportunity there will be for her to get a paying job. Part of the decision is also based on the idea that sons should be educated, because they will be the breadwinners of their future families and the supporters of their aging parents.

A girl's work, though it may be longer and harder, is considered less likely to bring in monetary income. In cities everywhere, the number of girls and boys in schools is more even than in rural areas; and there are more girls out of school in developing countries than in industrialized ones.

Take a look at who's in school around the world:

source: un.org

How many boys are there in your class, and girls?