A/HRC/30/23 7. The High Commissioner emphasized that the culture of discrimination deeply entrenched in many societies should be challenged so as to allow women and girls to achieve their full potential and to deploy the skills that they have learned. He recalled the key role that education could play in dismantling persistent gender stereotypes that may have a profound impact on girls’ health, self-confidence, vulnerability to violence and their enjoyment of every other human right. Pointing out that Girls’ education was imperative in achieving the new agenda for development, the High Commissioner called upon States to take urgent measures to ensure that all girls had effective and safe access to education of quality, including human rights education. B. Overview of presentations by the panellists 8. The panel moderator recalled that the right to education had been acknowledged as a multiplier right and stressed that, in spite of the remarkable progress made in increasing enrolment, gaps remained, particularly in the area of ensuring education for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds and in emergency situations. 9. Ms. Al Hashimy pointed out that States would be unable to meet current development goals and targets if they failed to empower women. She referred to some of the challenges that the United Arab Emirates had faced in achieving its Millennium Development Goal on education, including the low level of development and absence of governance and institutions. These challenges also presented opportunities for building an education system based on the principle of gender equality funded by the State’s income deriving from natural resources. Robust legal frameworks had been adopted, including compulsory, free-of-charge primary education and the establishment of 18 years as the minimum age for marriage. The State’s robust formal school system reflected the principle of gender equality: 90 per cent of girls and 87 per cent of boys were enrolled in primary education, while 95 per cent of girls and 80 per cent of boys who graduated from high school entered higher education. In addition, women in the United Arab Emirates constituted 70 per cent of college graduates, one of the highest proportions in the world. She emphasized that any State that prioritized education in its budget and built an educational system founded on the principles of gender equality and the rights of the child would obtain positive results. 10. Ms. Bailey outlined various ways in which structural and ideological factors hindered access to education for girls. She referred in particular to entrenched sociocultural norms and stereotypes, which dictated gender relations in the family, including the allocation of resources within the family and determing what a given generation considered appropriate gender roles. This often resulted in gender inequalities, including in the area of access to schooling and participation in the formal work force, with women being disadvantaged. She referred to the incidence of early and forced marriages and adolescent pregnancy, and the marked preference for boys as examples that exacerbated the continued subordination of females in the private and public domains. To address this challenge, women had to have the right to exercise personal autonomy and greater control over their sexual and reproductive health and rights. In addition, in order for women to become economically independent and less reliant on male patronage, they had to be able to move out of the private sphere into paid decent work in the formal labour market. Women had to be able to participate more fully in political processes and decision-making at all levels. 11. Mr. Singh welcomed the recognition of the right to education as a multiplier right, and stressed that making it a true right required entitlement and empowerment. He described inclusive, non-discriminatory education as a core element of the right to education. He also stressed the need for quality, human rights-based education in all areas – knowledge, values, competence and skills – as well as the importance of focusing on the 3