Policy Brief: Gender Equality in and through Education in Central Asia

21 December 2021

UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office developed a policy brief aimed to highlight the main challenges faced by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in achieving gender equality in and through education in terms of access, quality, governance and financing.

The policy brief also highlights relevant policy interventions that could be taken to ensure a transformative agenda. The UNESCO Almaty is publishing this report as part of the Central Asia Series. You can download the brief in English or Russian.

Gender equality is at the heart of UNESCO’s mission, and is one of the organization’s two global priorities. Education has a powerful role to play in achieving gender equality and in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet unequal access to education, gender bias, stereotypes and gender-based discrimination remain in society, within the family and in education systems.

Gender equality stands at the core of the global education agenda Education 2030, which calls for a world where all countries adopt approaches that ensure ‘girls and boys, women and men, not only gain access to and complete education cycles, but are empowered equally in and through education.’

The importance of gender equality in education is also reinforced in the Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 5 calls for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and SDG 4 seeks to ensure the right to inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning. Gender is reflected across the targets of SDG 4, with Target 4.5 focusing specifically on eliminating gender disparities in education.

Permanent link: http://en.unesco.kz/policy-brief-gender-equality-in-and-through-education-in-central-asia-4654