Girls make up the majority of out-of-school children. Of the adult
illiterates worldwide, two-thirds live in Asia and the Pacific, of which the majority are adult
women. There is, moreover, a strong relationship between poverty and gender inequality
in education, which is particularly pronounced for girls born into the poorest communities.
Donnelly (2008, p. 389) notes that, in the context of sport for development and peace,
“poverty is the single greatest barrier to participation”, while Right To Play (2008, p. 129)
argue “education is the single most powerful means for families to escape poverty over the
longer term”