E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.2 page 47 191. This shows that comprehensive action is possible and should be attempted because it can bring about improvements in women’s status in this sphere. Three key terms should be borne in mind in this respect: educating, informing and training.261 It is clear that cultural practices which have been deeply entrenched among peoples from time immemorial cannot be treated simply as acts of violence or abuse against girls, even if they are very harmful and affect female health, integrity and life. Prevention takes precedence over protection here since it is often a matter of targeting attitudes in order to restore the image of women within the family and in society. That should not overshadow protective measures to be undertaken by States and the international community. It has been seen from the legal aspects that many instruments protect women and girls by guaranteeing rights recognized in general instruments and the right to equality or by affording women specific protection against discrimination. But the right of women to be so protected has difficulty coexisting with collective manifestations of freedom of religion as recognized by many international instruments and exercised in many countries in a manner injurious to the status of women. This shows that preventive and protective measures in that respect go hand in hand and have to comprise both domestic efforts (section A) and international efforts (section B) so that the cultural dimension of freedom of religion does not work against women’s rights. A. Domestic measures 1. Prevention 192. Prevention first entails a better understanding of cultural practices that are detrimental to women’s status. States where such practices take place should be encouraged to conduct exhaustive studies with a view to developing strategies aimed at eliminating all harmful customs and practices, especially in areas where adverse cultural practices and customs are more deeply seated. Many measures could be taken, some all-embracing and others targeting harmful practices. (a) Education and training 193. In many countries, customary practices affecting women have, as has been seen, declined as a result of programmes designed to educate, inform, train and raise the awareness of the population generally and of the individuals involved in particular. As often pointed out by the Special Rapporteur on traditional practices affecting the health of women and the girl child, such programmes are “key elements in efforts to combat traditional practices affecting the health of women and the girl child” (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/14, para. 45) and other religiously or culturally based discriminatory practices. 194. Governments should be encouraged to develop legal literacy and training strategies at all levels of society with the aim of altering discriminatory cultural norms and attitudes.262 They should implement a policy of compulsory education as one of the most effective ways of ensuring that girls do not work during school hours and with a view to preventing early marriage and thus early motherhood.263 Eradication of female illiteracy, which also stems from discriminatory customary and traditional practices, and equal access of girls and boys to education are priority measures in relation to women’s status in the light of religion and traditions, without which other measures lose their significance. Raising the minimum age for marriage is directly linked to improved female educational levels. It is a major factor since