Girls: Kazakhstan & Algeria trump USA!

Kazakhstan and Algeria trump USA on girls' opportunity scales with Tunisia and Cuba right alongside it!
The United States of America has hit the headlines again for its treatment of girls and this time it has nothing to do with the shenanigans of presidential-wannabe Donald Trump.

Though the billionaire Republican presidential candidate shocked most of the civilised world with his misogynistic groping remarks that were beamed widely around the world on social media after the second US presidential debate the USA is once again in hot water over its treatment of females. A report out by British charity, Save the Children, released for the United Nations Day of the Girl, October 11th, has ranked the USA at number 32, three places below Ireland (29), two places below Kazakhstan (30) and one place below Algeria (31) in its global Girls’ Opportunity Index.

This latest bad news comes as the report states that not all rich countries are doing as well as they should:
“Australia, for example, is ranked 21 in this index, which contrasts with its position as number 2 in the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI). This is largely due to its low proportion of women MPs and relatively high adolescent fertility rate. These factors have also pulled countries such as the UK and Canada down the ranking.

“While the USA, the world’s biggest economy, ranks at number 8 in the HDI, it is at position 32 in our index, below Algeria and Kazakhstan. As well as women’s representation in parliament, the USA is let down by relatively high adolescent fertility and maternal mortality rates compared to other countries in its income group.

“Fourteen women died per 100,000 live births in the USA in 2015; a similar number to Uruguay and Lebanon, and far higher than the three deaths per 100,000 in Poland, Greece and Finland.”
Of the countries that top the poll and that are way above the shamed USA in the first 15 places are the usual Nordic list of suspects that feature highly on all wealth, health and goodness indices. In descending order are a number of European Union/European Economic Area member states at number one is Sweden, then Finland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, Portugal Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and in 15th place, while still in and around the EU is the UK.

This list is followed by feelgood country New Zealand (16), Israel, France, Canada and Serbia in places numbers 16-20 with Australia coming in behind the former Yugoslav republic at number 21.

The next set of countries on the list is a bit of a mixed bag of Europe and Asia with Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Greece, South Korea and Macedonia in places 22-28, all still above the USA’s 32nd position. Below the USA, the land of opportunity, at number 33 is Tunisia and a mere one step below that the USA’s island nation communist state of Cuba neighbour who the bigger state is only just bringing in from the cold, or the sun, is at number 34!

“Most countries are struggling to achieve gender parity among MPs, regardless of the size of their economy. Only three of the countries with the highest proportion of female MPs are high income countries – Sweden, Finland and Spain. Rwanda tops the table with 64% of female MPs, followed by Bolivia and Cuba. In contrast, only 19% of MPs in the USA are women, and only 29% in the UK,” the report says.

It has some upbeat notes for middle listed countries saying: “Some low income countries demonstrate that change is possible. Nepal is performing relatively well compared to its peers. This is due in part to its relatively good lower-secondary school completion rate for girls, which, at 86%, is similar to Spain’s. However, Nepal could advance further, particularly through a focus on child marriage and maternal mortality.

“Child marriage and adolescent fertility are worryingly high in too many countries, pushing them down the rankings. Brazil is an upper-middle-income country, yet is only slightly higher in the index than the low-income fragile state of Haiti.”

At the lower end of the scale in the bottom ten in an ascending list of poor ratings are a depressing list of countries – Niger, above that Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Guinea, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.

“The worst places to be a girl are amongst the poorest in the world. These countries have extremely high rates of deprivation across all indicators. They must focus urgently on ensuring that policy and practice uphold girls’ rights,” Save the Children report says.

Author: Mary O’Carroll

Shadow