Gender inequality in secondary and higher education of Eritrea – issues and perspectives

The women play a key role in economic growth and development. World Bank and IMF studies have shown that the economies of the developing countries are losing billions of US dollars because women are still discriminated against in economic life. Eritrean women contribute largely for the freedom and economic development. The girls' education during the colonial periods is found to be gloomy but the situation improved after the independence in terms of girls' number in the schools. The ideological construction of gender identities in the country promotes males as being more important in the society. This paper examines some of the rationale for the women's education and the discrimination against them in Eritrea. The paper highlights the girls' participation in education both at secondary and tertiary levels. The paper argues that girls' and women's access to secondary education is not optimal for them to achieve their empowerment and finally it entails from stakeholders to join hands to empower women in all dimensions (i.e., economically, socially, politically, psychologically and technologically) so that they can fulfil their potentials for sustainable development.