Ill be in Yemen next week, working on some issues around the education of girls and young women. As much as we are encouraged by democratic changes across the globe, girls and women still can face overwhelming and appalling conditions. As todays Washington Post piece illustrates, both girls and boys in Yemen are greatly affected by the conflict there.
As the article notes, however, girls, especially from rural areas, face [dire] conditions. With rising poverty and increased displacement from the violence, many now have to take on more responsibilities, in a nation that already has the lowest school enrollment rate for girls in the Middle East. Aid workers worry about an increase in families marrying off young daughters to ease financial pressures. Ill share my experience when I return.