in Addis Ababa with government ministers, education experts, and civil society representatives to accelerate progress on girls' and women's education.across Africa. Globally, nine of the ten countries with the highest education exclusion rates for girls are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to
It is encouraging that issues faced by pregnant and parenting students are firmly on the agenda. One in every five girls in Africa isbefore age 19. Thousands of girls who are pregnant or parenting are not in school. Girls often face insurmountable barriers to staying in school, which leads to low school retention and evenshows mixed practices in how AU member countries hinder or protect girls' right to education.
This is where the African Union plays a key role: it should tap into its convening power and ability to propose AU-wide policy frameworks to guide member states in effectively implementing human rights obligations. At the Addis Ababa conference, AU institutions, including its human rights bodies, should encourage African governments to proactively examine education policy frameworks and their implementation in schools. They should also heed calls for the AU to work on a continental framework to guide governments on the rights of girls who are pregnant or parenting. The AU and other education actors supporting African governments should encourage all governments to adopt).
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