In the media
Girls’ school enrollment decreases in conflict – UNU-WIDER study gets attention in Indian news

The co-author of a recent UNU-WIDER study, Prakash Singh, has published a column in India’s news site, the Hindu Business Line. In the article, he discusses some of the challenges faced by girls and women in India and the vital role of education in improving their position even in the most difficult of circumstances.

The piece draws on the WIDER Working Paper ‘Gender bias in education during conflict’ published earlier in 2016. Using data from Assam, the state in which the social status of women is the poorest in the country, the study sheds light on the role of violent conflict on girls’ access to education. It was found that a two-fold increase in average killings in the area during a school year leads to 13% decrease in girls’ school enrollment. The gender balance in schools was improved with more professionally qualified—in particular, female teachers—per student.

Read the full article on the Hindu Business Line: She wants to go to school