International (MNN) — International Day of the Girl Child is this Saturday, October 11 — a time to celebrate young girls and confront the challenges that hold them back. Around the world, millions of girls are still being kept out of school.
David Durance, president of TeachBeyond, says those barriers begin early.
“Families are already saying to their young girls that they need to provide economically for the family. And then there’s the other side of that, which is a real social pressure to be married very young…. They’re married off at the age of 13, 14, and many by 15.”
(Photo courtesy of TeachBeyond)
Plan International’s 2025 State of the World’s Girls report shows how devastating that cycle can be. Across 15 countries, researchers spoke with 251 girls who married before age 18. Sixty-three percent were no longer in school, training, or work after marriage. More than one in three dropped out of school because of marriage — and only a few were able to continue learning afterward.
“If we were to map the two issues together – literacy issues combined with kids that don’t complete K to 12 education – then we’d see that this is actually a huge issue that needs to be addressed,” says Durance.
TeachBeyond is tackling that issue by offering girls high-quality education and free meals.
“When there is high-quality, affordable education…the equation changes for these parents,” Durance says. “It’s now saying there’s a practical invitation where my daughter might actually have an opportunity to have a different pathway forward in her life.”
(Photo courtesy of TeachBeyond via Facebook)
Educators with TeachBeyond are local believers who can serve as role models for their students. These Christian teachers point girls to Jesus, who calls them valuable, worthy, and loved.
Durance says, “We actually see this as, obviously a crisis, but a huge opportunity where – from the ground up, from the child up – we can pray for a whole society to receive the Gospel and be transformed by the power of the Gospel. “
Pray for young girls to access education, and for families to see daughters as valuable and capable. Thank the Lord for mentors inspiring girls toward Christ-centered leadership. Pray, ultimately, for Gospel transformation in communities trapped by poverty and tradition.
Header photo courtesy of TeachBeyond.
