The Australian Baha\u2019i Community has joined with many organisations in Australia to promote the importance of educating girls in order to eradicate poverty.<\/p>\n
To mark United Nations International Day for Eradication of Poverty on 17 October 2009, the Australian Baha\u2019i Community and UNIFEM Australia led a move in which more than 20 organisations signed a statement affirming that girls must be valued by their families and by society.<\/p>\n
Those participating ranged from faith communities to women\u2019s professional organisations to academic, health, justice and human rights organisations.<\/p>\n
Investing in girls\u2019 education is an investment in a better future for us all, said a spokesperson for the Australian Baha\u2019i Community, Tessa Scrine.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducating girls not only benefits the individuals but also their families, communities, nations and the world as a whole,\u201d Ms Scrine said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, Baha\u2019is believe that education of girls is so important that if a lack of resources forces a choice between educating a son or daughter, parents should choose the daughter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls must be educated to participate fully in the affairs of the world and to fulfil their responsibilities as mothers and first educators of the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
UNIFEM Australia Director Julie McKay said that unless the world acted to ensure girls\u2019 rights during childhood, it could not achieve gender equality and the real empowerment of women that would eradicate poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen all the benefits are taken into account, educating girls yields a higher rate of return than any other investment that can be made in the developing world,\u201d Ms McKay said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducating girls contributes to increased economic productivity and improved family nutrition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom reductions in infant mortality, fertility, and the incidence of AIDS to improvements in the environment, it has been demonstrated that the mother’s education makes the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms McKay said that positive effects increase with every additional year a girl stays in school.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor every year beyond fourth grade that girls go to school, family size drops 20 percent and wages rise 20 percent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFemale literacy alone has been shown to play a much more important role in promoting social well-being than other variables related to the general level of wealth in a society.\u201d<\/p>\n