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| Saturday, 31 July 2004 |
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Asian Cricket Council joins hands with UNICEF: Creating a level playing field for the South Asian girl child by Chandani Jayatilleke
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the organisers of the current Asia Cup tournament in Colombo, has recognised this concept and has joined UNICEF to promote the importance of Girls' education in the South Asian region. The event held at the Gallery Cafe in Colombo was attended by the senior representatives of the Asian Cricket Council and the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. The highlight of the event was the photo exhibition. This partnership with the Asian Cricket Council is aimed at highlighting the need to accelerate enrolment and retention of girls in schools and to emphasise children's right to play. Fair Play for Girls recognises that girls in South Asia face an uneven playing field in life. Many children, particularly girls are kept out of organised games and sports throughout South Asia. This has implications for health and reflects marked social exclusion.
According to UNICEF, South Asia has the largest number of women in the world who cannot read and write. One quarter of all the children in the world live in South Asia and 4 million primary school age children in SA are out of school. Sadly, more than half of this figure are girls. Girls are also the last to be placed in school and the first to be taken out. The statistics also reveal that 35% of primary school age girls are not enrolled compared to 20% of boys and more than a fourth of all the children who enter school do not complete primary education. Although many would not realise it by providing better chances for girl children, boys get improved schools. Most of the girls in South Asia are out of school mainly due to discrimination, poverty, lack of schools in their villages, unfriendly schools, weak legal frameworks and early marriages for girl children in some SA countries. Many parents and certain officials in South Asia still hold deep rooted attitudes that keep girls working at home. These attitudes will lead to ignoring the future financial benefits that can be gained by working women. Another major reason is that poor families tend to favour sons rather than daughters. This preference is often reinforced by society, schools and education systems. In reality, educating girls has a significant multiplier effect that works for families and states. Each additional year of schooling for girls translates into a decline in child mortality and female fertility by 5 to 10 percent. Children whose mothers completed primary school are half as likely to suffer from malnutrition as mothers with no formal education. Increased schooling of the mother, rather than the father is associated with higher gains in child quality outcomes including birth weight, child survival, good nutrition and increased school enrolment and completion. Speaking at the event UNICEF Program Coordinator, Dr. Yasmin Haque said the program should have seven major factors; target-driven, focused, competitive, good performance, strategy, partnership and commitment. She said she was inspired by the India/Sri Lanka cricket match which was played the previous night and gathered these ideas for the success of the program. Chief Executive of the ACC, Sayed Ashraful Huq said the ACC recognises the social benefits of sport and its ability to bring people together in a harmonious way. He said such programs could bring major changes in societies and nations. For instance, in Bangladesh, things have changed dramatically, following such programs. Talking about the partnership he said the ACC agreement is valid for one year, but it can be extended. "We are delighted to be able to work with UNICEF for a worthy cause of this nature and promote girls' education and to encourage wider inclusion through sport," he added. Former Indian Test cricketer, cricket commentator and UN Ambassador in India, Ravi Shastri said that he is pleased to be part of this program. As an UN Ambassador, he has so far gathered an exhilarating and humble experience by involving in Polio eradication programs. "Sports teach you a heck of a lot; peace, courage and relationships. Sports is vital for holistic development for young people. For girls, sports is a great inspiration. They usually don't get much social life. Through sports, girls get the chance to do better," he said. While the Asia Cup final is scheduled to be played on August 1, Shastri said, "We already got a winner - that's this valuable partnership." The ACC represents 20 cricket boards in Asia and aims to promote and develop the sport in the region, and now girls education too. Eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education is a key UNICEF goal for the year 2005. If this partnership works well with the support of those who want to level the playing field for girls, South Asian girl children could inherit a bright future. |
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Produced by Lake House |
Fairplay for Girls' Education, a concept to promote education among
girl children in South Asia (SA) through sports, which has already been
introduced in a few SA countries, was launched in Colombo on Wednesday.
