This paper is designed to assist education planners and policymakers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to identify a range of strategic options to increase the access and retention of girls in the education system. It provides a review of materials relating to the status of female education in the MENA region, statistical data on demographic and economic factors affecting education in the region, and an overview of education in four subsets of nations in the MENA region. The report then discusses 20 educational strategies to improve opportunity for girls. They include: building the political will to reallocate budgets; promoting networks; mobilizing partners; decentralization; reducing opportunity costs to girls' families; having primary schools closer to communities; providing sanitary facilities; sex-segregated schools where appropriate; making schools more accommodating; improving teacher quality; making teachers agents of change; gender-sensitive curricula and teacher training; sufficient textbooks; more female teachers at the secondary level; promoting tolerance; extra-curricular activities; utilizing educational technology; instilling basic skills in out-of-school girls; integrated parent-child education to improve female adult literacy; and promoting female adult literacy. Three appendices provide information on workshop participants and strategies to improve educational opportunities for girls. (Contains 182 references.) (MDM)