Empowered and educated women raise healthier children, become leaders in their communities, and are less likely to die during childbirth.  Women have an enormous impact on the well-being of their families and societies – yet many are never able to reach their potential.  In many places, women do not have the same opportunities as men to get a formal education or a job.

The target of Goal Three is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

Making It Real
Episcopal Relief and Development is one of the organizations that are empowering women.  For example, ERD is supporting a vocational training school in Jangalak, an impoverished suburb of Kabul, Afghanistan.  Years of war and the oppressive Taliban regime prevented girls in this country from attending school.  Today, there is a huge disparity in students' ages and grade levels.  Yet their desire to learn has grown even stronger.

One hundred twenty six young women between the ages of 12 and 16 are currently enrolled -- they have never been to school before.  The majority of these young women were rejected by government schools because of their age.  This intensive four-year program will permit them to enter public schools in their respective grade levels.  The program also helps the young women learn skills such as tailoring and carpet weaving, enabling them to learn a trade and become self-sufficient.

Beheshta Mohammad Afzal is 16 years old and attends the Jangalak school at the third grade level.  She lives with her grandfather and her mother, who struggles to feed the family on her meager maid's salary.  Beheshta is a very good student and is particularly interested in computers.  She represents a hopeful future for Afghanistan: a future in which girls have every opportunity given to boys, a future full of strong women.

What You Can Do: PRAY.
Pray with and for women by forming a prayer circle in your congregation.  Invite a weekly guest speaker (a student, a friend, or a member of the group) from a developing country to share her personal experiences.  Learn about the challenges women face in different communities.   

For Further Consideration