UNITED NATIONS • Forum on Minority Issues remains a considerable challenge. Internal factors, including cultural practices, early marriage and entrenched patriarchal structures and gender roles that, for example, restrict the free movement of girls and women, are important issues that raise barriers to access to education for girls, and must be addressed. External barriers, such as discrimination against minority girls at school by teachers and pupils, discrimination in textbooks, targeted and mass violence against minority groups, including minority women and girls, sexual violence or fear of violence against minority girls because of stereotypes about them, parents’ fear of violence against their daughters on the journey to school in more remote regions, and poor infrastructure should also be taken into consideration. 1. National, regional and local governments 54. Governments should identify the underlying causes that might prevent minority girls from exercising their right to have access to quality education, including extreme poverty; hunger; living in remote areas; cultural issues; early marriage and pregnancy; security issues; lack of adequate water and sanitation and separate bathrooms, in order to address these root causes systematically. Governments should implement specific programmes to tackle the underlying causes. 55. Governments should develop and implement inclusive and targeted education policies that provide access to high-quality learning environments for all women and girls belonging to minorities in their languages. They should develop adult-literacy schemes for minority women who missed out on education. The core principles of equality and non-discrimination should be at the centre of the design of their education systems. 56. Governments should make every effort to identify girls from marginalized communities and systematically support them in ensuring that they begin school at the same age as other children, and subsequently continue to the level that they choose. Awareness-raising schemes should be implemented to inform minority parents about the importance of quality education for their daughters and to encourage them to prioritize education, while discouraging such practices as early marriage. 57. In reforming school curricula, Governments and other relevant stakeholders should pay particular attention to empowering girls belonging to minorities. A good understanding of cultural and religious identity issues will assist Governments and education authorities in designing better educational interventions. Intercultural education approaches that are minority and culturally sensitive and that address gender discrimination should be adopted, with particular attention paid to countering stereotypes and myths with regard to minority women and girls. Educational programmes and learning environments, including non-formal and flexible learning approaches, appropriate for minority girls should be developed in collaboration with minority groups to ensure that they respect their history, culture, religion and language, as well as distinct minority cultures of learning. As well, more 56 Compilation of Recommendations of the First Four Sessions 2008 to 2011