43. Notes with concern that child, early and forced marriage disproportionally affects girls who have received little or no formal education and is itself a significant obstacle to educational opportunities for girls and young women, in particular girls who are forced to drop out of school owing to marriage and/or childbirth, recognizing that educational opportunities are directly related to women’s and girls’ empowerment, employment and economic opportunities and to their active participation in economic, social and cultural development, governa nce and decision-making;