From classrooms to communities: Girls’ education builds lasting peace

By Vongaishe Changamire, Education Technical Specialist, World Vision Canada and Hawa Abdiaziz, Refugee Education Council

In a time marked by escalating conflict, political instability and a worsening climate crisis, education stands out as one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools for building peace and resilience. Around the world, one in five children is living in or fleeing from conflict, while nearly one billion are growing up in countries considered at high risk from the impacts of climate change ( UNICEF, 2023 ). Nearly a quarter of a billion children—an increase of 35 million over the past three years—still lack access to quality education ( UNICEF USA, 2025 ).

Among those most severely impacted are girls, who face an array of intersecting risks, including early marriage, exploitation and entrenched cultural norms that deprioritize their right to education. Many girls are withdrawn from school to take on care-giving roles or are forced into early marriage. Travelling to and from school places them at risk of harassment, sexual violence and exploitation. These dangers are not hypothetical. They are a daily reality for many. Without access to education, girls are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking, child marriage and abuse, exacerbating cycles of poverty and marginalization.

In conflict-affected and fragile contexts, girls who are internally displaced or formerly associated with armed groups encounter formidable gender-based barriers to accessing safe, quality education. These include the physical destruction of schools, the absence of trained teachers, systemic discrimination, economic hardship and sociocultural expectations that restrict their mobility and autonomy.

The case for girls’ education in crisis and conflict settings

Against this backdrop, inclusive and quality education plays a transformative role. Without access to education, particularly for girls, the potential for progress remains stifled and the cycle of crisis continues. Education contributes to individual empowerment and to collective progress by advancing human rights, improving social cohesion, strengthening civic participation and supporting more democratic and tolerant societies ( GPE, 2024 ). UNESCO estimates that doubling the percentage of youth with secondary education can cut the risk of conflict in half, while educational inequality has been found to more than double the likelihood of conflict in fragile contexts ( CSIS, 2023 ).

The evidence is clear: educating girls yields powerful and multidimensional returns. Investments in girls’ education enhance agency, economic productivity, climate resilience, public health and peacebuilding outcomes ( GPE, 2024 ). As the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) notes, societies with higher educational participation, especially among women, experience lower levels of political instability and conflict ( GPE, 2025 ). In fact, girls' education has been shown to generate five-fold returns on investment while contributing significantly to peace, security, and long-term development.

Protecting and promoting girls’ rights to education

Despite these immense challenges, meaningful efforts are underway to protect and promote girls’ right to education in crisis settings. Across humanitarian and development sectors, governments, donors, civil society and displaced communities themselves are working collaboratively to ensure that education is prioritized.

A compelling voice in this movement is Hawa Abdiaziz, a member of Canada’s Refugee Education Council (REC) and a former Somali refugee who grew up in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Hawa’s journey powerfully illustrates the transformative potential of education. Displaced by conflict at a young age, she witnessed firsthand how education, especially for girls, is not merely a path to knowledge but a lifeline to dignity, empowerment and peace.

For Hawa, education goes far beyond reading and writing. It is about equipping girls with the tools to advocate for themselves, participate meaningfully in decision-making, and become leaders capable of transforming their own lives and the future of their communities.

One girl at a time: Hawa’s message on education and lasting peace

Education is a powerful anchor in crisis-affected environments, not only for learning but also for psychological and emotional recovery. For girls experiencing displacement, conflict and gender-based violence, the classroom is a safe haven. A secure, welcoming learning environment offers structure, stability, and the chance to begin healing from past trauma. When schools prioritize mental health and psychosocial support, they restore girls’ sense of self, autonomy and hope for the future.

Education is more than literacy. It equips girls with the tools to advocate for themselves, participate in decision-making and lead change in their communities. Any meaningful peace-building effort must include the creation of safe, inclusive spaces where girls feel valued, respected and protected. These settings foster leadership and resilience, allowing girls to not only learn but also lead.

When girls are encouraged to speak openly about their experiences and challenges, they begin to see themselves as agents of change. I have seen firsthand how education goes beyond academics by addressing mental health, providing life skills and overcoming gender-based barriers, empowering girls to make meaningful contributions to their communities. This holistic approach transforms girls into peacebuilders, challenging harmful norms, bridging divides and sowing seeds of reconciliation.

One empowered girl at a time, we move closer to lasting peace by creating inclusive, trauma-informed and girl-centered learning spaces. As someone who walked this journey, from a student in a refugee camp to an advocate for girls’ rights, I know the power of education. Let us no longer see it as just a classroom activity, but as a transformative tool for healing, empowerment and peace.

So, my question is, how can we expect to build lasting peace if half of our population, the girls, are left out of the conversation?

From evidence to action: Examples from our programs

World Vision Canada works with adolescent girls and young women in conflict-affected countries, supporting their right to safe, inclusive and quality education. Recent work in Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—through projects funded by Global Affairs Canada—has demonstrated the transformative impact of education when it is combined with life skills, psychosocial support and community engagement.

Increasing equitable access to learning for girls in the DRC

In Kasai Central province of the DRC, a region still recovering from years of conflict, displacement and gender-based violence, World Vision Canada’s Equality for Girls’ Access to Learning (EGAL) project (2020 – 2023) aimed to break the cycle of educational exclusion. In a context where girls face early marriage, sexual violence and deep-rooted societal discrimination, EGAL created safe learning spaces, delivered psychosocial support and provided life skills training tailored to girls’ realities.

A standout component of EGAL was the establishment of Girls and Leadership Clubs, which addressed both academic gaps and structural barriers to education access, such as corporal punishment in schools, sexual exploitation, mental health and patriarchal cultural norms. Club activities covered topics including peace education, sexual and reproductive health, public speaking, advocacy and positive masculinity.

To strengthen girls’ support systems, the project engaged teachers, female community mentors, faith leaders, caregivers and male allies to promote girls’ education and challenge harmful norms. Messages of non-discrimination and forgiveness were shared through poetry, community dialogues and radio. Teachers also received training through the Teachers in Crisis Contexts (TiCC) curriculum, with a focus on positive discipline, empathy and classroom-based peacebuilding.

In a setting once defined by exclusion and stigma for female students, EGAL helped reclaim education as a space for their healing, dignity, and empowerment.

Overcoming barriers to education and life skills in Mali

In Mali, where persistent insecurity and threats from non-state armed groups continue to destabilize the education sector, World Vision Canada, in partnership with Plan International and Save the Children Canada, implemented the IMAGINE project, with support from Global Affairs Canada. In communities where schools were forced to close due to conflict, COVID, teacher strikes, military coups and flooding, the project introduced safe, home-based radio curricula, ensuring that education didn’t stop at the classroom door—but instead found continuity within homes and communities.

IMAGINE went beyond academics. It emphasized transformative life skills—including empathy, stress management, conflict resolution and leadership, equipping adolescent girls not only to cope, but to be leaders. Girls were mentored to facilitate intergenerational dialogues on education, peace and protection, while women’s groups in each commune provided guidance and support to strengthen their leadership journeys.

By creating flexible, community-rooted learning pathways and fostering open dialogue, IMAGINE transformed education from a service delivered in crisis to a foundation for peace and leadership. In doing so, the project bridged the gap between classrooms and communities, positioning girls as powerful agents of change in both.

The future of peace begins where girls learn: Investing in education

If we are serious about peacebuilding, girls' education cannot be treated as an afterthought. From refugee camps to conflict zones, classrooms hold the potential to become the first building blocks of a more peaceful, inclusive future for all. But this vision is only possible if every girl is given the opportunity to learn, lead and thrive.

As both evidence and lived experiences have shown, education must be reimagined, not just as a pathway to academic achievement, but as a powerful tool for healing, empowerment and transformation, especially in contexts of conflict and displacement.

This calls for a bold shift in how we design and deliver education in emergencies. It means:

• Prioritizing trauma-informed, gender-responsive approaches that recognize and respond to the unique challenges girls face.
• Embedding life skills, psychosocial support and leadership training into teaching and learning.
• Creating safe, inclusive and community-rooted learning environments where girls feel protected, valued and supported.
• Elevating youth voices—especially girls’ voices—in education policy and decision-making.

Investing in girls’ education is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. The time to act is now. When girls learn, communities heal, and the world moves closer to peace, one classroom at a time.

Related links:

• From classrooms to communities: Harnessing girls education for lasting peace, a webinar hosted by the Refugee Education Council, in partnership with World Vision Canada and Global Affairs Canada
• The Importance of Place and Space Inquiry to Inform Education Programming in a Conflict-affected Context, a report from the IMAGINE Mali girls’ education project
• Understanding nexus programming: An innovative approach from Ethiopia