Girls and boys are missing out on education: UN deputy chief

So many girls are missing out on education but so are boys, the UN deputy chief said on Wednesday on the margins of a high-level meeting of the General Assembly. Amina Mohammed was a key speaker at the one-day event which brings together education experts from around the world to discuss ways to advance action on Sustainable Development Goal 4. SDG 4 seeks to “ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.”. It also recognizes that equity in access to education for girls and boys is critical in achieving gender equality, delaying marriage and developing female leaders. Jocelyne Sambira has more.

“Protect the girls, respect the women,” says Sierra Leone minister

Protecting girls from forced or underage initiations like female circumcision has always been a focus of Sylvia Blyden, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Gender and Social Affairs. She made the remarks on the margins of a disability conference at UN headquarters in New York that was held in June. Sierra Leone is one of the 28 African countries where the procedure is practised, according to the World Health Organisation or WHO. Ms Blyden has worked with police officers to rescue girls who face circumcision, which is the partial or full remove of their external genitalia as part of a ritual or in preparation for marriage. She sat down with Liz Scaffidi to discuss this issue and women’s equality, as well as how she has “made history” as the youngest person to lead a political party in her country.

Gymnastics helps girls from South Sudan heal from war-related trauma

Schoolgirls from South Sudan are learning gymnastics to help them release stress and heal from war-related trauma, according to the UN Mission in the country, UNMISS. The Mission’s Civil Affairs Division has teamed up with a local non-governmental organisation, Spring of Peace, to use the sport to promote peace and unity among various ethnicities in Yei town. The city has become a flashpoint of fighting between government and rebel forces since July 2016. Jocelyne Sambira has more.

Presenter: Jocelyne Sambira

Production Assistant: Ana Carmo

Duration: 10'00″