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عربي [Sanaa, 1 September 2008] - Yemeni 10 -year gilr called Samia, one of the few girls in her village who attend school. "I like my school. I want to bring education to everyone here when I grow up," she says. The village of al-Quraiti, in al-Hudeidah Governorate, western Yemen, is typical of many rural areas in Yemen, where women spend hours fetching water on donkeys and illiteracy rates are high. It is here that Samia attends Sumayah primary school, where other 60 girls in the first grade but only 15 in grade seven, indicating that many do not progress far. "To bring children into school is easy but keeping them in school is difficult," said Nasim Ur-Rehman, chief communications and information officer at the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen. In 2007, the number of students in primary schools in Hudeidah Governorate, according to al-Hudeidah education department figures, about 356 thsousands students. among them there were about 148 thousands girls. About 34 thousands of them in grade one with about 40 thousands boys, while only 6 thousands girls in grade nine with about 9 thousands boys, indicating the high dropout rate among girls. National campaign UNICEF, in cooperation with the Education Ministry, has launched a "several-week-long national campaign" to promote girls' education - mobilising parents, community leaders, officials, religious leaders, media, and children themselves. Focusing on six of Yemen’s 21 governorates and the Island of Socotra. It aims to distribute campaign materials and use TV and radio to get its message across. "The national campaign comes at the most opportune time. Yemen suffers from low enrolment when it comes to primary education. The retention of children and completion of primary school is not very good," UNICEF's Ur-Rehman told IRIN. Huge Gender Gap He said there was a huge gender gap: "Girls are somehow at a disadvantage: they are the last to be sent to school and the first to be pulled out," he said. According to UNICEF, in Yemen 63 girls per 100 boys in primary school in urban areas and 45 per 100 in rural areas. Socio-cultural factors Poverty, early marriage, lack of female teachers and child-friendly schools, especially in rural areas where 75 percent of Yemen's 21 million people live, are the main factors. The head of al-Zaydia District’s education department, Abdul-Bari Mohammed, said there was a shortage of female teachers: 14 schools in the district had closed since 2005 due to the lack of female teachers. Many communities do not allow male teachers to teach girls. Ali Bahloul, head of al-Hudeidah's education department, told IRIN that large families (common in rural areas) meant children were often sent to school at too young an age simply to prevent them from getting into trouble at home. "Education is not their [the parents] main concern. Children are enrolled in school too young," he said, adding: "The minimum age should at least be six or seven for primary school enrolment." UNICEF efforts Sumayah primary school for girls, which Samia attends, has been selected as one of UNICEF’s “child-friendly schools” as part of its “framework for rights-based, child-friendly educational systems and schools”. Some 30 percent of UNICEF's resources in Yemen have been earmarked for education programmes, according to Ur-Rehman. UNICEF has allocated US$317,231 for girls’ education in al-Hudeidah alone. In 2007, UNICEF recruited 377 female secondary graduates from rural communities in the six targeted governorates. Some 115 of them were selected in al-Hudeidah Governorate. Each female teacher is paid a monthly salary of US$100 by UNICEF. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the ministries of planning, the civil service and education to guarantee the absorption of the 377 female teachers after three years. Yemen is ranked bottom (128 out of 128 countries listed) on the Global Gender Gap Index for 2007. Further Information ** Tiny voices defy Child Marriage in Yemen (30/06/20008) ** Children's Right to Education
"Early marriage is a big problem… Girls lose out on in terms of education when they are married in another area," Sumayah school's headmistress told IRIN.
** Yemen: Despite ministry decision, parents still paying primary schoold fees (17/08/2008)