It is hardly surprising news, but a new report shows that girls and women are those hit hardest by the global recession. The study is from the organizations Plan International, which is working to reduce child poverty, and the Overseas Development Institute - the UK's leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. They state that: "The world is failing girls and women." The report's author Nigel Chapman said: "Girls are the largest marginalised group in the world." Mr Chapman added: "Much of the problem lies with 'entrenched gender inequality'." Chapman found that a worsening economy results in females of all ages having to work harder and suffering more domestic abuse.
Mr Chapman's report highlights a tragic increase in mortality rates for female infants. He told the BBC: "The proportion of baby girls who died when the economy shrank rose five times faster than the proportion of baby boys who died….Hence, a 1% fall in economic output increases infant mortality by 7.4 deaths per 1,000 girls against 1.5 for boys." He paints an equally bleak picture for girls not being able to complete their education. He reports that the global recession saw a fall in primary school completion for girls of 29% compared to 22% for boys. "Girls get sucked into domestic chores," he said. "Once they stop going to school it's very hard to get back into the rhythm of things."
Taken from Breaking News English.
Read the news report on the BBC website here.
You can also visit Plan International website to find out more about their campaign to help girls.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
| a) | Did you like reading this article? Why/not? |
| b) | What does it say about the world when more baby girls die than baby boys? |
| c) | Why do you think countries allow this to happen? |
| d) | What countries do you know of that need to work harder on equality? |
| e) | Do you think women should be allowed to do anything a man does? |
| f) | There are very few women in positions of power in the European Union. Why? |
| g) | How much is a country held back economically if it does not provide girls with an education? |
| h) | Should there be sanctions on countries that treat girls so badly? |
| i) | Where do you think we'll be with this issue in 50 years? |
| j) | What questions would you like to ask the head of Plan International? |
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