Increasing education and other opportunities for girls and women with water, sanitation and hygiene

Although two-thirds of the nearly one billion illiterate adults in the world are women, boys continue to get preference for education, which perpetuates this gender gap. Deprived of basic education in childhood, women have less confidence and therefore do not take advantage of opportunities such as basic rights, access to loans, job opportunities, higher education, participation in political decision-making, and advancing the health and education status of their children.
There are several reasons why more girls than boys do not get a basic education. In poor households, girls are needed for domestic tasks viewed as 'women's work' such as collecting water and firewood, and looking after children. They also have to contribute to the household income. Social attitudes and distance from the homes are also reasons for keeping girls out of school. The lack of private sanitary facilities for girls discourages parents from sending girls to school, contributes to the drop-out rate of girls at puberty and is a contributing factor to fewer women teachers, who are needed to encourage girls to attend school. Girls are more susceptible to disease, infections and work-related hazards.
This is because they are often fed less, offered less nutritious food and given less health care, yet they have more work to do than boys. This all leads to poor attendance and performance at school.