Reaching the marginalized: EFA global monitoring report, 2010; 2010

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE EFA GOALSUniversal primary educationFigure 2.16: The relationship between enrolment and gender parity varies across countriesNet enrolment ratios and gender parity in primary education, 2007100GenderparityNet enrolment ratios (%)90807060Higher enrolmentC. A. R.YemenMaliIraqBeninPakistanTogoMozambiqueGuineaNigeriaEthiopiaBurkina FasoMoroccoLao PDRCambodiaIndiaSwazilandCape VerdeDominican Rep.BurundiGrenadaAntigua/BarbudaEquat. GuineaTimor-LesteCongoGhanaSenegalOmanNepalMalawiMauritaniaTurks/Caicos IsNauruGambiaBangladesh50NigerDjibouti40Eritrea30LiberiaGirlsdisadvantagedBoysdisadvantaged200.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00 1.10Gender parity indexNote: Gender parity in primary education is measured by the gender parity index of gross enrolment ratios. See annex for details.Source: Annex, Statistical Table 5.in 1999 to an equal number of girls and boys in2007. However, not all progress towards genderparity has positive origins. In Equatorial Guinea,Liberia and Togo, greater parity has been driven notby expansion of the education system but by the factthat boys’ enrolment has declined (Figure 2.17).With some of the world’s largest gender gaps,several countries in West Africa have adoptedpolicies aimed at strengthening parity as part ofthe wider strategy for achieving universal primaryeducation. Some of these policies focus onremoving one of the greatest obstacles to genderequity: attitudes on girls’ and women’s place insociety. Working through village heads and religiousleaders, governments have mounted campaignsto communicate to parents the importance ofeducating daughters. Other strategies includepaying financial incentives, providing water andsanitation in schools (including separate latrinesfor boys and girls), recruiting female teachers andproviding incentives for their deployment to ruralareas, and giving teachers gender sensitizationtraining (UNESCO-IIEP, 2009). In remote ruralareas, distance to school is often a major securityconcern for parents of young girls. GovernmentsSenegal reachedgender parityin 2007 in thespace of oneprimary schoolgeneration65