Girls in 70 countries face violence over education

Girls in at least 70 countries have faced threats, violent attacks and other abuse for trying to go to school over the past five years, the UN human rights office said Monday.

A report by the Geneva-based body noted that, despite some progress, girls still face difficulty getting an education in many countries around the world.

"Attacks against girls accessing education persist and, alarmingly, appear in some countries to be occurring with increasing regularity," the report said.

Several recent cases of attacks against girls accessing education have highlighted the fragile nature of achievements in increasing the accessibility, availability, adaptability, acceptability and quality of education for all, the report notes, citing: the cold-blooded killing of more than 100 children in a Pakistani Taliban attack at an army school in Peshawar in December 2014, the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in April 2014 by the Boko Haram movement in northeast Nigeria, the 2012 shooting of education activist Malala Yousafzai by members of the Taliban in Pakistan, several incidents of poisoning and acid attacks against schoolgirls in Afghanistan between 2012 and 2014, the reported forced removal of girls from schools in Somalia to become ‘wives’ of Al-Shabaab fighters in 2010, and the abduction and rape of girls at a Christian school in India in July 2013. 

"According to UN sources, more than 3,600 separate attacks against educational institutions, teachers and students were recorded in 2012 alone," it said. 

The authors warned that the attacks have a "ripple effect" that sends a signal to parents of other girls that schools are not safe. 

"The removal of girls from education due to fears for their security and concerns about their subsequent marriageability may result in additional human rights violations such as child and forced marriage, domestic violence, early pregnancy, exposure to other harmful practices, trafficking and sexual and labor exploitation," the report said. 

The document concluded that attacks against schoolgirls can't be prevented without addressing broader patterns of violence and discrimination against women and girls. 

They recommended devoting more money to helping that ensure girls can go to school without the threat of violence and promoting the benefits that universal access to education has for society as a whole.