What are the Benefits of educating Girls?
In Somalia, 95% of girls between the age of 7 and 16, have never attended school. In 2013, 32 million girls were not in Secondary school. Girls have a right to education! However, education is very expensive, so what are the benefits of educating woman?
In countries such as Pakistan, Sudan, Syria and Bangladesh, girls are denied the opportunity to education for many different reasons. Some of these reasons include cultural barriers, sexual harassment and forced marriages. Many people believe that there are no benefits in educating girls although there are.
Education is not only very important, but also very expensive. Governments invest a lot of money into education. So what are the benefits for the governments? A single year of primary school has been proven to increase a girl’s income later on in her life, by 20%. If a girl goes to secondary school, it is raised by 20-25%. The better education that a woman receives, the higher her literacy skills. Literacy skills are very important and the better they are, the more chance she has of getting a better job.  The better job you have, the higher are your wages. The more you get paid, the more taxes you have to pay. This is a big benefit for the government. The more people who work and have a high paying job, the more money the government receives. The benefit of this is that the country will slowly rise up and out of poverty. If a country is out of poverty then they will not require as much foreign aid. Education makes a big difference to a woman’s wages. In Pakistan, woman with high levels of literacy skills, earn 95% more than women with low levels of literacy. A woman tends to invest 90% of what they earn, back into their families. This also helps bring a country out of poverty as families become wealthier and require less government aid. Woman who have a good education, are empowered to take a greater economic role in society. Most economic roles are taken by men, therefore woman should have a chance to take up an economic position. This also comes down to gender equality.
At the moment there are approximately 7.125 billion people on the planet. Around 1.252 billion of these people live in India. In China there are 1.357 billion people. These two countries are the most overpopulated countries in the world. Uneducated woman tend to have more children as they cannot stand up against their husbands and are therefore not able to control how many children they have. In Mali, a woman with no education has an average of 7 children where if she has an education she has an average of 3 children. The more educated a woman is, the fewer children she has, who tend to be healthier, which is beneficial to the countries Welfare system. Therefore educating woman helps stop overpopulation and puts less demand onto the Welfare system. Also, the more money a family has, the more likely they are to have their own insurance taking pressure off for the country.

Around 29,000 children under the age of 5 die each day. 21 million children die every minute! Educating girls increases the chance that she will have her child immunised, decreasing the chance that it will die under the age of 5. An educated mother also makes sure her child isn’t malnourished. In Bangladesh, when a mother has finished primary school, the chance that her child will be stunted goes down by 22% and in Indonesia by 26%. A girl who finishes primary school, is 3 times less likely to receive HIV. When girls aren’t in school, they can be prevented from learning about HIV and how to prevent it. This is beneficial to the countries Welfare system as girls are less likely to receive and pass on HIV.
Another benefit of educating girls is that the country’s GDP increases. When 10% more women attend school, the GDP increases by 3% which is a huge amount. It is good when a country’s GDP increases because it means a country becomes wealthier and stronger.
Human Trafficking is a huge issue. According to the U.S. State Department, around 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year, 80% of them being female. The UN Inter- Agency Project on Human Trafficking said that women are more vulnerable to being trafficked when they are uneducated. When a family becomes so poor in Nepal, they often sell their daughters for as little as $200. The families and the daughter normally don’t know that the girl will either be used for sex or labour. Nobody has the right to force us to do something against our will. Girls should be allowed to choose what happens to their body, their life and their future. The AHF (Aids Healthcare Foundation) Program says girls should be educated on Human Trafficking as well as their families to ensure their safety. Educating girl is the first step to beating this problem!
One in 9 girls are forced to marry under the age of 15. When a girl is forced into marriage her education is stopped. A girl should not be forced into marriage at such a young age because if her education ceases, all the benefits of educating girls will not be able to happen. Uneducated girls are three times more likely to marry before the age of 18. Girls with a secondary education are 6 times less likely to marry before the age of 18. When a girl is educated not only do her and her family benefit from it but also the country and the government.
Educating girls is important and has a lot of benefits! If country’s educate both genders, the world could become a better place where there are less child deaths, lower poverty and most importantly, happier citizens. Educating girls can change the world. Malala, a girl who bravely stood up for girl’s education said ‘one child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.’

References
"The Effect of Girls' Education on Health Outcomes: Fact Sheet." The Effect of Girls' Education on Health Outcomes: Fact Sheet. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
"Education Is Key to Reducing Child Mortality: The Link Between Maternal Health and Education | UN Chronicle." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016
"Goal 4 | Education | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization." Goal 4 | Education | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.
"Top 10 Reasons Why Female Education Is Important - TBP." The Borgen Project RSS2. N.p., 22 May 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
"Education Leads To Smaller Healthier Families." Education Leads To Smaller Healthier Families. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.
Girls, Hiv/aids And Educatio. GIRLS, HIV/AIDS AND EDUCATIONGIRLS, HIV/AIDS AND EDUCATION (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.
Brides, Girls Not. "Education - Girls Not Brides." Girls Not Brides. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.
Seaver, Jesse. "Educating Girls to Stop Girl Trafficking in Nepal." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.