Gross Enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)*	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)*
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	109	109	108	99	100	99

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)*	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)*
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	84	83	86	76	76	76

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	56	49	63

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
2000/2001	0.99	1.01	1.29

*UNESCO Institute for Statistics Estimation.

B.Bhutan

Basic statistics — population and education

	Population in thousands
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000	2 085	1 054	1 032

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level
Year	Total	Male	Female
	NI	NI	NI

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
	NI	NI	NI

Activities under the programme of UNESCO (2002/2003)

Women, gender and culture

34.The Poverty-Alleviation Cross-Cutting Project entitled “Development of cultural and ecotourism in the mountainous regions of Central Asia and in the Himalayas” includes activities targeting rural women in Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. This interdisciplinary project aims to promote sustainable community-based cultural and ecotourism in isolated mountain areas of Central Asia and in the Himalayas, with a focus on poverty alleviation, reduction of rural-urban migration and the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage. A major strength of the project, which is being carried out by local and international non-governmental organizations in Bhutan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan and Tajikistan, is its practical, hands-on approach to tackling rural poverty and its decided emphasis on community participation and South-South cooperation. The project aims at meeting many of the goals set out in Article 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, notably 14.2 (a), (d), (e), (f) and (g).

C.Ethiopia

Basic statistics — population and education

	Population in thousands
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000	62 908	31 259	31 649

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	64	76	52	47	53	41

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)*	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)*
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	18	22	14	13	15	10

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	2	2	1

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
2000/2001	0.77	0.68 *	0.27

*UNESCO Institute for Statistics Estimation.

D.Germany

Basic statistics — population and education

	Population in thousands
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000	82 017	40 148	41 869

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Primary 2000/2001)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary 1999/2000)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
	104	104	104	87	86	87

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)*
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	99	100	99	89	89	89

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level
Year	Total	Male	Female
1998/1999	46	47	45

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
	1.02	1.01 *	0.96

*UNESCO Institute for Statistics Estimation.

Activities under the programme of UNESCO (2002/2003)

Women, gender and natural sciences

Fellowships

35.In 2002, Mary Osborn received the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science in recognition of her contribution to research in the life sciences. She is one of the pioneers of immuno-fluorescence microscopy, a technique that today is used in laboratories throughout the world. Her work has many important applications and has resulted in new reagents that can be used in the differential diagnosis of human tumours.

E.Kuwait

Basic statistics — population and education

	Population in thousands
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000	1 914	1 115	800

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	94	95	93	83	84	82

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)*	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	56	55	57	NI	NI	NI

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level*
Year	Total	Male	Female
1998/1999	21	13	30

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
2000/2001	0.98	NI	2.31 **

*UNESCO Institute for Statistics Estimation.

**1998/99.

F.Kyrgyzstan

Basic statistics — population and education

	Population in thousands
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000	4 921	2 413	2 508

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	101	103	100	82	84	81

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	86	86	86	NI	NI	NI

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	41	40	42

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
2000/2001	0.97	NI	1.04

Activities under the programme of UNESCO (2002/2003)

Women, gender and education

36.Within the framework of the National Action Plan on Education for All, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Culture of Kyrgyzstan are developing a project entitled “Inclusion of a gender perspective in family education”. Within the framework of the project, facilitators will be trained, a number of workshops for parents will be conducted in 2003, and training materials will be published in Kyrgyz.

Women, gender and culture

37.The Poverty-Alleviation Cross-Cutting Project entitled “Development of cultural and ecotourism in the mountainous regions of Central Asia and in the Himalayas” includes activities targeting rural women in Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. This interdisciplinary project aims to promote sustainable community-based cultural and ecotourism in isolated mountain areas of Central Asia and in the Himalayas, with a focus on poverty alleviation, reduction of rural-urban migration and the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage. A major strength of the project, which is being carried out by local and international non-governmental organizations in Bhutan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan and Tajikistan, is its practical, hands-on approach to tackling rural poverty, and its decided emphasis on community participation and South-South cooperation. The project aims to meet many of the goals set out in Article 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, notably 14.2 (a), (d), (e), (f) and (g).

38.In Kyrgyzstan, the project is undertaking the development of home-stays and yurt camps for tourists in rural areas, promoting high-quality crafts made by local women’s associations, involving the local community in the protection of the cultural heritage and promoting traditional cultural festivals, including festivals of local cuisine and handicrafts. Rural women are involved in each of these activities, benefiting from training activities organized by the project and forming cooperatives and business organizations to bring the benefits of tourism to local households and communities.

G.Nepal

Basic statistics — population and education

	Population in thousands
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000	23 043	11 811	11 232

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)*
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	118	128	108	72	77	67

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)*	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	51	58	43	NI	NI	NI

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000/2001	5	7 *	2 *

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
2000/2001	0.87 *	NI	0.27 *

*UNESCO Institute for Statistics Estimation.

Activities under the programme of UNESCO (2002/2003)

Women, gender and education

39.The activities of UNESCO relating to education in Nepal are focused on the non-formal education sector. One of the major activities of UNESCO/Kathmandu is the community learning centre project, currently being implemented in seven districts of the country, namely Baitadi, Dadeldhula, Rasuwa, Jhapa, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. The project aims to provide continuous lifelong education in different forms to each community. Through both formal and non-formal education, a struggle is fought against illiteracy, with a strong emphasis on girls and women. Other activities, which are being undertaken by the community learning centres, include vocational training, income-generating activities, women’s empowerment and cultural activities.

40.UNESCO has been working since 2000 with the Center for Legal Research and Resource Development for the grass-roots prevention of the trafficking of girls and women for sexual exploitation, and a change in the social values that support it. The programme is founded on the belief that gender inequality is the main cause of trafficking and other forms of violence against women. The long-term goal of the programme is the gradual change in cultural assumptions and traditional roles that can disadvantage women in society. The major activities of the programme have been: paralegal training for women and men and the formation of paralegal committees; training for schoolteachers; empowerment of adolescent girls; income generation; vital event registration (accurate records of events such as birth, marriage and migration); combating trafficking of women and girls; enhanced information on trafficking and improved enforcement of legal rights; law reform and the Women Victim’s Legal Aid Clinic. The programme also receives support from other United Nations agencies (the United Nations Children’s Fund and the International Labour Organization) and international non-governmental organizations (Plan International and the Belgian Foundation).

41.UNESCO is implementing a project entitled “Scientific, technical and vocational education for girls” in Lalitpur and Rasuwa, which seeks to reduce poverty by providing poor, marginalized, adolescent girls with technical and vocational training in order to improve their career prospects.

Women, gender and culture

42.The Poverty-Alleviation Cross-Cutting Project entitled “Development of cultural and ecotourism in the mountainous regions of Central Asia and in the Himalayas” includes activities targeting rural women in Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. This interdisciplinary project aims to promote sustainable community-based cultural and ecotourism in isolated mountain areas of Central Asia and in the Himalayas, with a focus on poverty alleviation, reduction of rural-urban migration and the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage. A major strength of the project, which is being carried out by local and international non-governmental organizations in Bhutan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan and Tajikistan, is its practical, hands-on approach to tackling rural poverty and its decided emphasis on community participation and South-South cooperation. The project aims to meet many of the goals set out in Article 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, notably 14.2 (a), (d), (e), (f) and (g).

43.In Nepal, the project is developing home-stays run by local women in the isolated and economically disadvantaged region of Humla, and it has organized women’s leadership training in Simikot, the regional capital.

Participation programme

44.Within the participation programme 2002/2003, UNESCO contributes financially to the project entitled “Women’s Empowerment for Community Development” conducted in Nepal. The project organizes training for women on the rights of women, on skill development and on literacy. Furthermore two microcredit programmes will be implemented.

H.Nigeria

Basic statistics — population and education

	Population in thousands
Year	Total	Male	Female
2000	113 862	57 383	56 479

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Primary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)	Net enrolment ratio (%) (Secondary)
Year	Total	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female
						N
	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI

	Gross enrolment ratio (%) at tertiary level
Year	Total	Male	Female
	NI	NI	NI

	Gender parity index (%)
Year	Net enrolment ratio (Primary)	Net enrolment ratio (Secondary)	Gross enrolment ratio (Tertiary)
	NI	NI	NI

Activities under the programme of UNESCO (2002/2003)

Women, gender and education

45.The guidance and counselling programme concerns the non-academic aspects of education, in this case the emotional and social dimensions of the school life of the child. It gives greater significance to the education of children, enabling young people to acquire the capabilities and knowledge they need to achieve autonomy. The programme seeks to create and institutionalize guidance and counselling services in parallel with school life, while giving priority to the education of girls and placing emphasis on HIV/AIDS preventive education. The programme was established in 1994 by the African Ministers of Education and now involves 27 sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria. A working committee, composed of members from the participating countries, is responsible for the follow-up and implementation of the project. Regional training courses have been organized in English for the benefit of political leaders, teachers, trainers of teachers, young people and social workers in Malawi, where the temporary Centre for Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development in Africa is located. A permanent centre is being built. Local workshops were organized in the 27 participating countries, and the preparation of guidance and counselling training materials was continued. The resulting training kits included HIV/AIDS education, enterprise education, and racial and ethnic harmony.

46.In the context of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, UNESCO launched a joint study of the E-9 countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan). At the national level, the project consists of taking stock of existing achievements and bottlenecks, identifying policies adopted to facilitate access to education by all girls, and verifying whether implementation procedures match adopted policies and plans. A synthesis study on the basis of national findings not only summarizes the lessons learned and good practices, but also develops proposals for proactive policies and programmes to achieve education for girls within the context of Education for All.

Women, gender and natural sciences

Fellowships

47.In February 2003, a UNESCO-L’Oréal fellowship of $20,000 was granted to Ms. Luka Gesinde to pursue research in the Department of Agricultural and Food Studies at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.

48.Under the UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists Programme, Ms. Faith Adiele received a fellowship in 2002 to continue her training.

Women, gender and Africa

49.UNESCO, in collaboration with the Africa Leadership Forum, convened a regional conference on African Women and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) at the secretariat of the Forum, in Ota, Nigeria, from 3 to 5 February 2002. The principal objective of the conference was to increase awareness about NEPAD and to build a popular support base within the organized civil society in general and women’s groups in particular. Among other things, the conference identified the possible entry points for African women in the programmes and activities of NEPAD and a number of frameworks and possible modalities for women’s groups to interface effectively with NEPAD.

50.The conference served as an added opportunity for the women’s groups to evaluate the current mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the priority areas of security, stability, development and cooperation, and the roles of women in this process, while forming the basis for a structured understanding of African women’s place in the development and implementation of continental initiatives.

Participation programme

51.Within the participation programme 2002/2003, UNESCO contributes financially to a practical training workshop on environmental degradation, reclamation, conservation and pollution prevention for rural women and youth, conducted in Nigeria.

Notes

aSee General Assembly resolution 53/243 of 13 September 1999.

bUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Records of the General Conference, Thirty-first Session, Paris, 15 October-3 November 2001, vol. 1, Resolutions, resolution 25, annexes I and II.

cThe International decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World was proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 53/25 of 10 November 1998. See also www.unesco.org/iycp.

dThe International Year for the Culture of Peace was proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 52/15 of 20 November 1997.

eIn the tables in chapter III, “gross enrolment ratio” is defined as the number of pupils enrolled in the given level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population in the relevant official age group; “net enrolment ratio” is defined as the number of pupils in the official age group for a given level of education enrolled in that level, expressed as a percentage of the total population in that age group; and “gender parity index” is defined as the ratio of the female to male values of a given indicator.