A high level meeting, titled “Countering Violent Extremism through Girls’ Education” was held on Saturday, May 6 as part of the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku.

The meeting was moderated by Saniye Gülser Corat, Director, Division for Gender Equality, UNESCO.

Addressing the event, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov about the successes Azerbaijan achieved in the field of science and education in recent years.

He pointed out that in early 20th century Azerbaijan opened a school for girls and granted women the right to vote.   

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova noted the importance of the education for girls.

Ethiopia’s first lady Roman Tesfaye said that in the world about 60 million girls can not attend school and this is a global problem.

“Education guarantees the protection of girls' rights. Girls living in the conflict zone need special attention. Compared to previous years, the number of primary schools in Ethiopia has increased from 11,000 to 32,000,” she added.

Other speakers – Mali’s first lady Keita Aminata Maiga and Rwanda’s first lady Jeannette Kagame – also underscored the importance of education for girls. 

The chairperson of the State Committee of Azerbaijan for Family, Women and Children Affairs, Hijran Huseynova, said that the country is doing a lot of work to integrate internally displaced people into society. Azerbaijan pays much attention to the education of girls, Huseynova noted.