The Economic Costs of Refusing Education to Young Girls
- Diya Jafari
- Dec 26, 2025
- 4 min read
Introduction
Worldwide, 119 million girls have been denied the basic human right to education. 34 million are of primary school age, 28 million are of lower secondary school age, and 58 million are of upper secondary school age. (Unicef 2025). Girls who receive an education have a higher prospect of earning higher incomes, leading healthier, more productive lives and having the ability to determine factors that may affect them and their future generations. Denying girls the right to education is not merely a violation of human rights, it’s a calamitous factor which will send the world into an era of inequality, weakened economies and lacking of global prosperity. (Unesco 2025) Educating the youth of today means a brighter tomorrow with increased chance of economic, social and political success.
Breaching SDGs & Human Rights
Education is formally recognised as a human right. Cemented in legal documents such as the universal declaration of human rights, article 26, denying education is not a simple action, in fact it is a large one. Stripping a girl of her education while her male peers have no struggle in completing theirs, does more than breach laws and damage future economies. Instead, it teaches a young girl that her worth and her voice is less than that of a male. This clear act of gender discrimination instills a detrimental mindset into a young girl, negatively impacting the decisions she will have to make in the future. Moreover, it destroys the basis of the Sustainable Development Goal number 4, Quality Education. (Unesco, 2025)
The economic benefits of educated women
When a woman is educated, the economy reaps the reward. Schooling provides girls with valuable skills that will aid them in benefiting an economy in the future. In countries - such as Afghanistan - where education deprivation for girls is normalised, economies suffer from gender gaps that cost them around 15% of their GDP. (Collinge 2024)Additionally, if all females were included in the work force, there would be a 35% increase in GDP. (Collinge 2024) An educated woman is critical to a country’s development and economic growth.She serves as human capital to an economy and aids in boosting the GDP and economic growth of a country. With more workers, prices in an economy will drop and overall income levels will increase. This means that now, people have more disposable income to spend on goods and services. This increases the aggregate demand in an economy sending it into a boom period.
The barriers to education
A multitude of factors account for the barriers to education for girls. Notable among these factors are; poverty, gender norms and child marriage. Poverty is a leading cause of a lack of education. (Unicef, 2025). Schooling costs are often too much an expense for families in poorer countries. As a result children - often the girls - as young as five are pulled out of schools in order to work to support their families. In many communities, girls are pushed into early marriages and work instead of focusing on education. Due to unfortunate cultural stigmas, a son is valued higher and therefore is sent to school and taken care of whereas girls are often left to fend for themselves from alarmingly young ages. Unfortunately, these cultural stigmas push many young girls into child marriage. More than 12 million girls get married before the age of 18 every year. (Unfpa, 2025). Especially prevalent in south asian and west and central African countries, these deleterious practices often lead to; health issues, psychological issues, early and complicated pregnancies, and in extreme cases death. 22,000 deaths arise yearly related to child marriages. This means that more than 60 girls die everyday due to the circumstances forced upon them from a lack of education. (Save the Children, 2021)
The positive effects of education on a woman’s life
The benefits of educating girls heavily outweighs the costs, with an education a girl can build a foundation for herself, she can build a foundation for herself and she can turn her dreams into a reality. Elements as simple as a single year of schooling can increase a woman’s earnings as an adult by up to 20%. (Collinge, 2024). In Pakistan, women who received a higher education earned an astounding 95% (Collinge, 2024) more than women with little to no literary skills. Women become empowered to take control of their lives and make their own decisions. Additionally, marriage becomes delayed which leads to increased low-risk pregnancies and smaller, healthier families. Education reduces a girl’s vulnerability and provides her with valuable skills which benefit her for the rest of her life.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the withholding of education from young girls is an act of destruction. It's clear that this issue extends far beyond the classroom; it actively prevents millions of families from escaping poverty and slows the fight for true gender equality. Every time a girl is allowed to finish her education, she doesn't just gain a diploma, she gains the tools to control her own narrative, break intergenerational cycles of dependency, and contribute to her nation’s economy. Therefore, the choice is clear; either education can continually be denied to girls, or it can be instilled and used as a tool to grow and empower. It is our collective moral duty to dismantle every barrier, from poverty to prejudice, and ensure that every young girl, regardless of where she is born, is empowered to learn and thrive.
Citations
Unicef, Girls' education | UNICEF, November 5, 2025
Unesco, What you need to know about the right to education, February 13, 2025
Collinge, Maria, The Collective Cost of Not Educating Girls: The UN Weighs In, Female invest, October 20, 2024
Save the Children, Child Marriage Kills More Tan 60 Girls A Day, October 11, 2021
Unfpa, Chapter 4, Cost of Ending Child Marriage, November 5, 2025
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