Education is a human right, recognized and affirmed as such by the global community nearly seventy years ago in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in many subsequent declarations, conventions, and treaties. Yet worldwide, 263 million children and youth are not in school, and girls are more likely than boys to be excluded from education (UNESCO 2016a). A rights-based approach to education means not only that primary education should be free and compulsory for all children— girls and boys— but that children have a right to equitable access to a quality education, and to respect within the learning environment. Effectively addressing issues of access, quality, and respect requires attention to gender-based barriers to education, as well as the ways in which gender intersects with geography, wealth, disability, and other factors to impact the ability of girls and boys to exercise their right to education.