Girls Learn Everything: Realizing the Right to Education through CEDAW

The authors discuss the right to education for women as addressed and delineated in international human rights law and in particular within CEDAW. They explore what this right grants to women and why it is important. The authors argue that bringing CEDAW into this discussion can be beneficial in encouraging states to adopt measures that would promote this right. Currently, states and other non-state actors are not clear about the best methods to create equality in education and the framework provided by CEDAW in this respect is needed. It is argued that CEDAW needs to clarify substantive ways these rights could be realized and make more detailed recommendations for states to follow. CEDAW should do this by creating a framework based upon the four principles of availability, accessibility, adaptability, and acceptability as proposed in CESCR.