Countries: Ecuador
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"In 2015, according to the Study on Omission Costs in Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ecuador, 6,487 adolescents dropped out of school because they were pregnant; more than half of them (56 per cent) were in basic education at the time, resulting in a total of 36,871 years of schooling lost, with an average of 5.8 years per woman. This equates to $728.5 million in lost income that would have been earned had they not dropped out before high school. In fact, 44.3 per cent of pregnant women (aged 15 to 24) interrupted their studies or did not re enter the education system" (3). "The Higher Education Council, the regulatory...more

Countries: Niger
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"[T]his decree only includes commitments by the State to improve the quality of education, which has not reassured human rights organisations about the fight against early marriage of girls, nor even increased the rate of girls' education" (1). "Niger has also taken the following actions towards promoting women’s rights... The development of a National strategy for the acceleration of education and training for girls and women in Niger 2020-2030 with the aim of contributing to the establishment of an education system free of all forms of inequality and ensuring that both girls and boys have the same conditions for their access to and retention in school and for their academic...more

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-2, AFE-PRACTICE-1

"In interviews in Human Rights Watch’s 2018 report 'You Cry at Night but Don’t Know Why,' North Korean students and teachers explained that in mixed gender classes boys were almost always made leaders and that male teachers usually made decisions in schools, even though the majority of teachers in the school were women. Social structures and conventions that discriminate against women are also reflected in socially enforced rules of interaction between girls and boys. As teenagers, girls are often asked to use an honorific form when speaking to boys, even though there is no reverse requirement. This practice continues through university, extending into the workplace, marriage, and family life" (par....more

Countries: Italy
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"By March 10, 2020, all schools across Italy were closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, affecting almost 11 million students. In May and June 2020, Human Rights Watch interviewed students, parents, and teachers about the effects on children’s education. As of January 28, 2021, schools had been completely closed in Italy for 93 days during the pandemic, and closed either in particular areas or for certain grades for an additional 89 days. During closures, schools offered distance learning alternatives, but some girls and young women said they found distance education less conducive to learning. Children with disabilities and children who had difficulty accessing devices or...more

Countries: Iraq
Variables: CLCC-PRACTICE-1, AFE-PRACTICE-1

"In addition, people missing documentation cannot get a job or health care or apply for welfare benefits in Iraq. They cannot get birth certificates for new-born children or children born under ISIS control. Children denied birth certificates are not allowed to enroll in school and are at risk of statelessness" (4).

Countries: Morocco
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"The Committee notes with appreciation the State party’s indication that education for girls is prioritized in the State party’s programmes and plans to reform the education system. The Committee welcomes the increase in enrolment rates of girls in primary and secondary education and in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and information and communications technology. It also notes with interest the drafting of a roadmap to combat illiteracy among women (2014–2020). However, the Committee remains concerned that: (a) Dropouts of girls persist, often because of pregnancy; (b) Illiteracy, which primarily affects women, continues to be a problem; (c) Although primary school textbooks have been revised to counter stereotypes...more

Countries: Morocco
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"When Human Rights Watch documented conditions for child domestic workers in 2005 and 2012, child workers as young as 8 – known locally as 'petites bonnes' – said that their employers frequently beat and verbally abused them, would not let them go to school, and sometimes refused them adequate food. Some said they worked for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for as little as 100 Moroccan dirhams (US$11) per month" (2). "In April and June 2020, Human Rights Watch conducted remote interviews with students and teachers in multiple locations in Morocco to learn about the effects on children’s education of school closures in response to the Covid-19...more

Countries: D R Congo, Mali, South Sudan
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"As of January 2021, China has 2541 troops deployed in UN peacekeeping missions in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mali. These are all countries where attacks on students and schools, and the military use of schools have been documented" (12).

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"Women in Afghanistan have been banned from training to become midwives in the latest crackdown unveiled by the Taliban. Trainee midwifery students, who have been ordered to no longer attend classes, urged Taliban leaders to allow them to continue studying" (Para 1,2). "Sources close to the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health told BBC Radio 4’s World at One they have received orders to shut medical institutions to female students until further notice. Several midwifery institutions in different provinces in Afghanistan confirmed the ban is in place to the news outlet. Heather Barr, interim women’s rights deputy director at Human Rights Watch, told The Independent: “This is closing one of the...more

Countries: Iran
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"Women in Iran could face the death penalty or up to 15 years in prison for violating new compulsory morality laws set to take effect this week. These laws, aimed at enforcing the “culture of chastity and hijab,” impose harsh punishments, including fines up to £12,500, flogging, and prison sentences of 5 to 15 years for repeat offenses like improper dressing or promoting indecency. (UST - CODERS COMMENT). "Any businesses or commercial establishments, taxi drivers, media and broadcasters, and educational institutions will also now be subjected to punishments and penalties if they fail to report defaulting women and men, or allow the promotion of “nudity” and “improper dressing" (Para 7).more

Countries: Mauritania
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"Mauritania’s national civil registration process, which began in 2011, is preventing some children from attending public school and taking mandatory national examinations. To complete the registration process, citizens and non-citizen residents are required to produce a range of official paperwork, but many people lack the necessary documents and have found the process of obtaining them arduous. Families told Human Rights Watch that some schools have rejected pupils who lack civil registration, even though school attendance is compulsory from ages 6 to 14. Despite attempts to standardize the civil registration procedures, local rules governing registration are often passed on orally, and rules are not applied consistently across civil registration centers. Some...more

Countries: Central African Rep, Mali
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"Bhutan’s peacekeeping staff are currently deployed in the Central African Republic and Mali — both countries where attacks on students and schools, and the military use of schools by local parties has been documented as a problem" (2).

Countries: Somalia, South Sudan
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"Uganda’s peacekeeping staff are deployed in Somalia and South Sudan — both countries where attacks on students and schools and the military use of schools by local parties have been documented" (3).

Countries: Costa Rica
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"The Institute of Technology of Costa Rica received 543 complaints during that period, of which 77 per cent were filed by female students, lecturers and administrative staff. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education recorded 432 disciplinary cases involving sexual harassment of girls and adolescents" (6). "Costa Rica has high educational standards. However, the main challenge continues to be ensuring that educational spaces are free of inequality and discrimination against women in all their diversity and that the necessary conditions are in place to prevent the exclusion of women and promote retention.... [F]rom an early age, women face circumstances that put them at risk of educational exclusion" (13). "Costa Rica is also...more

Countries: Iraq
Variables: AFE-PRACTICE-1

"While marriage is presented to some underage girls as a chance to escape poverty, many of the marriages end in failure, bringing lifelong consequences for young women, including social shame and a lack of opportunities because of unfinished schooling" (para 8).