Let's read Maya's Story:

My name is Maya. I was born 14 years ago in a poor peasant family. There were already many children so when I was born no one was happy. When I was still very little, I learned to help my mother and elder sisters with domestic chores. I swept the floor, washed clothes and carried water and firewood. Some of my friends played outside but I could not join them. I was very happy when I was allowed to go to school. I made new friends there and learned to read and write. But when I reached the fourth grade, my parents stopped my education. My father said there was no money to pay the fees. Also, I was needed at home to help my mother and the others. If I were a boy, my parents would have let me complete school. My elder brother finished school and now works in an office in the capital. Two of my younger brothers go to school. Maybe they, too, will finish.

There are 130 million children worldwide who are not in school. Two out of every three of these are girls.

During the past two decades there has been a great increase in the proportion of girls enrolled in schools in developing countries: the percentage of girls in school shot up from 38 to 78 percent.

Who's In School continues...