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In addition, the benefits of female education for women's empowerment and gender equality are broadly recognized:

While 53 percent of the women said that the decision should depend on the children's capabilities, 39 percent said that the son should go to the university, compared with only 8 percent who said that the daughter should go. The survey also found that mothers of children who had never attended school were more likely to cite the cost of education as a reason for not educating their daughters than for not educating their sons.

As women's educational attainment in MENA countries has increased, more women have moved into the job market. But women's participation in the labor force is still low: Only 20 percent of women ages 15 and older in MENA countries are in the labor force — the lowest level of any world region.

But those rates are lower than rates found outside the region. In France, for example, women make up 45 percent of the labor force; in Indonesia, which is home to the world's largest Muslim population, women make up 38 percent of the labor force.16

Women in MENA countries are twice as likely to be illiterate as men are and make up two-thirds of the region's illiterate adults. The gender gaps in education vary greatly across countries in the region but are generally wider in countries where overall literacy and school enrollment are lower. In Yemen, for example, the illiteracy rate among young women (54 percent) is triple that of young men (17 percent). But countries that make political and financial commitments to reducing illiteracy, as Jordan and Tunisia have, generally see significant improvements in reducing illiteracy and narrowing the gender gap (see Figure 6).

t is absolutely shameful that the obligation to protect schools is not being respected in this conflict

Syrian refugee children in neighbouring countries are facing disturbing rates of abuse, bullying, corporal punishment and marginalization

p to half of children surveyed by the agency in Syria reported they were 'rarely' or 'never' able to concentrate in class

Syrian children are dropping out of school by the day, and the international community has to step up its response to ensure that we do not lose an entire generation of children."

Four years into the Syria crisis, overall enrolment in Syrian schools has halved from near 100% pre-crisis levels, while enrolment in the hardest hit areas such as Aleppo has plummeted to just 6%

And those children who have managed to escape the conflict in Syria are also missing out on education with devastating consequences. One in 10 Syrian refugee children across the region are estimated to be working, and the figure is likely to be much higher. In Jordan, 47% of refugee families reported relying partly or entirely on their children's income in a recent assessment.

We have heard from children being cursed and ridiculed by teachers in host countries, being told that they have ruined their country or to go back to Syria," Hearn said. "Others face corporal punishment at school. In Egypt alone, 30% of children we interviewed told us they were being hit by teachers and 70% are being verbally abused

Refugee children are also faced with learning an unfamiliar curriculum or even a teacher speaking a language they cannot understand.