Education is a fundamental element in unlocking the potential of every human being. As a significant tool for sustainable development, education contributes to personal and collective well-being and benefits both individuals and societies. Recognizing the key role of education, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration on September 18, 2000, in which it declared its determination to ensure that by 2015 children around the world “will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling” and to ensure that “girls and boys have equal access to all levels of education.” [1] An enormous amount of efforts has been made at the international and national levels to achieve this goal, but unfortunately it must be recognized that the expected result has not been accomplished. [2] Therefore, this aspiration is continued in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Goal 4 of which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. [3] It should be noted that in one way or another, all the Sustainable Development Goals have an educational component.

Without a doubt, education plays a crucial role in the development of the individual, and hence the right to education has been recognized as one of the essential human rights. As the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has determined, the right to education is both an economic, social and cultural right and a civil and political right, representing a key element for the full realization of these rights. [4] Thus, “the right to education summarizes the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights.” [5] Because of the importance of this right and its contribution to the promotion of other human rights, the right to education is recognized in numerous international human rights treaties.

The first prominent statement was undoubtedly the proclamation of the right to education in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 26. [6] Subsequently, the recognition of the significance of the right to education as a keystone for human dignity and a paramount element in the development of all humankind has been reflected in other human rights instruments at the international and regional levels. Among the legally binding human rights treaties at the international level are the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Article 13 [7], the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Article 5 [8], the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Article 28 [9], the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Article 24 [10], the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in Article 30 [11] and other international instruments. Regional treaties include the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in Article 14 [12], the Charter of the Organization of American States in Article 49 [13], the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Article 17 [14] and others. 

Every international human rights treaty that enshrines the right to education has made an immeasurable contribution to the proclamation and the conceptualization of the right to education, including the rights of women and girls. For example, legal scholars have noted that the ICESCR has introduced a significant element emphasizing more clearly the right to education for those who have not had time to receive it in the usual age range, and in the CRC, the reference to “equal opportunity” is a significant highlight. [15] However, the proclamation of the right to education in these documents has been framed in more gender-neutral terms, which may limit the focus on the wide range of obstacles faced by girls and women. As CEDAW notes, the specific obstacles that women and girls face in exercising their right to education are disproportionately high [16], and it is therefore imperative that the implementation of education norms take these limitations into account. 

Among other aspects, violence and sexual harassment against girls in school is a serious reason for parents to keep their children out of school, or for the girls themselves to miss classes. Girls’ school attendance suffers when there are inadequate sanitation facilities to meet the needs of menstruating girls. [17] Hidden school fees become a burden for families unable to pay them, which also leads to the decision of parents not to send their children to school, and if a family is faced with the choice of which child to pay for – a boy or a girl – the education of a boy is preferred. [18] This most likely choice is determined, firstly, by the existence of gender stereotypes about the role of women, and secondly, by the presence of structural discrimination in the labour market, where the education of a man is likely to bring greater economic benefits to the family. The list of these barriers, unfortunately, does not end at this point, but is supplemented by global contexts. For example, natural disasters caused by climate change aggravate the situation of all children and push parents not to send them to school out of concern for their child’s safety. 

Meanwhile, women and girls’ enjoyment of their right to education contributes directly to the realization of other fundamental rights and freedoms and improves the wellbeing of women and girls themselves and the global community. For example, education can encourage a commitment to environmentalism in such areas as wise water use, zero-waste food procurement, proper recycling and more, leading to the mitigation of environmental degradation, the promotion of peace and improvement of health. Furthermore, by opening doors to personal growth for women and girls, the right to education promotes poverty reduction and accelerates economic growth and social progress. Educated women participate more actively in the civic and cultural development of their state. And the expansion of reproductive and sexual rights education programs, including sexual education, can be a major impetus for reducing child marriage, early pregnancy and maternal mortality. 

Prioritizing women’s right to education, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in Article 10 obliges States to take “all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education”. [19] In addition to Article 10, in 2017, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women submitted General Recommendation No. 36 on the right to education [20], which empowers States Parties with a specific interpretation of the implementing mechanism for the right of women and girls to education in accordance with the spirit of CEDAW. 

As the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has determined, States parties must implement all aspects of the right to education in accordance with CEDAW. [21] This suggests that for the right to education to be fully proclaimed, States must ensure both the right to education in itself and a range of other rights related in one way or another to the educational process. In this regard, it may be useful to define a framework of rights that serves as the necessary foundation on which to establish the building of the effective realization of girls’ and women’s right to education. This framework is based on CEDAW’s General Recommendation No. 36 and the Committee’s existing legal practice under the Convention, and is as follows:

1. The right to education, including:

• The right to lifelong learning on a non-discriminatory basis for all, in particular for girls and women from vulnerable groups.
• The right to inclusive education in the spirit of gender equality and respect for human rights.
• The right to education on reproductive and sexual health and rights.
• The right to effective legal protection of the right to education for girls and women.

2. The right to access to education, including:

• The right to physical accessibility to education.
• The right to economic accessibility of education.
• The right to technical accessibility of education.
• The right to psychological accessibility of education.

3. The right to quality education, including:

• The right to quality and relevant learning material and to teaching methods that are free from gender stereotypes and discrimination and that aim to unlock the full potential of every learner.
• The right to qualified teachers.

4. The right to freedom from emotional and physical violence, including sexual violence and Internet bullying, including:

• The right to effective protection from violence.
• The right to non-ignoring of reports of violence and the right to effective investigation of violence.
• The right of victims of violence to psychological and physical assistance.

5. The right to decent work on a non-discriminatory basis, including:

• The right to freedom from discrimination and segregation in the labor market, including the right to occupy decision-making positions on the basis of merit.
• The right to protection of women’s right to decent work.

Therefore, in order to fully ensure the right of girls and women to education, States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women must guarantee both all aspects of the right to education and all aspects of rights related to the right to education. For this purpose, CEDAW in General Recommendation No. 36 highlighted a number of general and specialized measures that the State party shall undertake to implement the right of women and girls to education. There are six main areas of measures that can be identified:

• developing and monitoring of educational strategies and programs;
• educating and building a dialog with the community;
• providing appropriately qualified teaching personnel;
• ensuring that educational buildings are adequately equipped and have acceptable facilities to reach them;
• carrying out legislative and law enforcement measures;
• implementing general policies to reform the education system in the spirit of the Convention.

A generalised formula for actions in promoting the right to education of State party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women can be summarised as follows: the State is obliged to develop educational strategies in the spirit of the Convention, to advance and supervise their implementation, and to take measures to identify and address the shortcomings of these strategies and existing obstacles, including by monitoring the implementation of the right to education of girls and women. 

In conclusion shall be said, that contributing to the educational environment in the spirit of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the most progressive choice for all States, regardless of cultural, ideological and religious specificities, and even in the absence of status of the Party to the Convention itself. After all, it is “through enlightenment and education” States will be able to promote respect for human rights and freedoms [22], and thus be able to truly “affirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women”. [23] And to accomplish this there must be political will and a strong commitment on the part of States to implement the right to education to the full extent enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

[1] Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 September 2000, UN Doc A/RES/55/2. P.19.
[2] CEDAW, «General recommendation No. 36 — the right of girls and women to education» (2017), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/36. Para 2.
[3] UN. Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Sustainable development goals, 2015, UN Doc A/RES/70/1. Goal 4.
[4] CESCR, General Comment 11 – Agenda for Action on Primary Education (1999), UN Doc. E/C.12/1999/4. Para.2.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948), adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 217A (III). Article 26.
[7] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (entered into force on 3 January 1976), adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 2200 A (XXI). Article 13.
[8] International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (21 December 1965), adopted by UNGA Resolution 2106 (XX). Article 5.
[9] Convention on the Rights of the Child (entered into force on 15 September 1990), adopted by UNGA Resolution 44/25. Article 28.
[10] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (entered into force on 3 May 2008), adopted by UNGA Resolution 61/106. Article 24.
[11] MCCOWAN, Tristan. Education as a Human Right: Principles for a Universal Entitlement to Learning.  Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2013.
[12] Charter of the Fundamental rights of European Union (18 of December 2000), Doc. 2000/C 364/01. Article 14.
[13] Charter of the organization of American States ((13 December 1951), signed at the Ninth International Conference of American States of 30 April 1948 with amendments. Article 49.
[14] The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (entered into force 21 October 1986), adopted 27 June 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3. Article 17. 
[15] International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (entered into force on 1 July 2003), adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 45/158. Article 30.
[16] CEDAW, General recommendation No.36 — the right of girls and women to education (2017), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/36. Para 2.
[17] CEDAW, General recommendation No. 34 on the rights of rural women (2016), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/34. Para 42.
[18] CEDAW, General recommendation No. 36 — the right of girls and women to education (2017), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/36. Para 37.
[19] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (entered into force on 3 September 1981), adopted by UNGA Resolution 34/180. Article 10.
[20] CEDAW, General recommendation No. 36 — the right of girls and women to education (2017), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/36
[21] CEDAW, Statement on Protection of Girls’ Right to Education, adopted on 19 October 2012 during the 53rd session.
[22] Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948), adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 217A (III). Preamble.
[23] Charter of the United Nations (26 June 1945) Can TS 1945 No.7. Preamble.