Where are we?

The famed social reformer B.R Ambedkar  aptly stated, “I measure the progress of a community by the degrees of progress which women have ​​achieved.” Although the Republic of India is no longer considered a poor country by the international community, the female illiteracy rate still lags at 53.7%. Despite the fact that the Right to Education Act in the Indian Constitution reinforces the idea that education is a universal right that cannot be denied to any child regardless of gender, caste or wealth, girls from poor and marginalized communities are denied their basic right to education. Factors such as  societal conventions, poverty and the quality of education must be fixed in order to combat the lack of girls’ education which stifles the progress of india as a nation.

 Societal expectations preclude girls from gaining access to quality education. As an illustration,  girls  encounter  sexual harassment  on their journey to school and are reluctant to report the perpetrators as they are considered responsible for attracting the  unwanted attention. 

As reported in the Atlantic (Williams, 2013), attacks against young teenage girls have increased and  only 40 percent of these cases are reported despite efforts to ensure the security of the young girls. In order to ensure the safety of the girls and protect their family’s reputation parents feel compelled to take their children out of school. In a like manner, although child marriage and the practice of using dowry to exploit families is considered illegal, it is still common in marginalized communities. According to the Jolkona organization (2012), the groom’s family may demand a higher dowry if the bride has attended school during puberty and cancel the marriage.This is partially responsible for the reluctance by parents to sending their daughters to secondary school. Women are denied the universal right to education due to the society’s perceptions and mentality concerning the girl child.

The age old mentality and practices in rural communities persist as a result of the quality of education and girl protection offered. A girl is raised to be of assistance in domestic work and finally grows to be a housewife. Her life revolves around raising her family and managing the domestic responsibility of preparing food and providing  care for her family members. Thus, there is little improvement in the quality of education offered to impoverished communities and villages. There is an absence of the funds needed  to provide safe and sanitary facilities for girls to attend. As an illustration, female students feel deprived of their right to privacy and safety due to the lack of bathrooms when they are going through their menstruation cycle.

Schools located in disenfranchised localities lack the basic infrastructure needed to function properly such as adequate shelter, textbooks, female teachers, electricity and toilets. In conclusion,  the stereotype continues to haunt  women in their struggle for education.

Education mitigates the harm to girls caused by poverty, violence, child labor and abuse. The positive impact  that education has  on the girl  herself is often overlooked. Education gives girls the ability to follow their dreams and aspirations as they are able to express and contribute  their opinions concerning the family and their community by giving them them the freedom of choice. Women are able to contribute to the country and serve in different roles such as that of teachers, doctors and scientists. In addition, education trains women to be better mothers and adept at managing household expenses. It allows women to access and interpret resources regarding education, household economics, personal health and child rearing. The investment and promotion of girls’ education is beneficial to their community and country.

Government as well as private organizations are developing innovative solutions that promote girls’ education. Public school that are located in poor villages often lack the funding to provide quality education. In consideration of this  private NGOs have partnered with public school to improve the quality of education offered while keeping the cost low. For example, the Education Alliance is one of the many non-profit organization that facilitates public private partnerships in the Indian education system that is focused at improving the quality of  education that is  available to the economically weaker sections of society. However, there are many concerns regarding the funds required in order to facilitate an effective partnership that provides education in poverty stricken communities. I believe that I could be of assistance in their endeavors by raising the necessary funds. In addition, there has been an increase in  recent efforts to sensitize communities about girl education. Individuals have the ability to advocate for action against the obstacles and difficulties that girls encounter by raising awareness through the internet and encouraging political leaders to take a stand for girls’ education. In response to increasing demand for educational opportunity, the government also launched a campaign in the year of 2015  promoting education for the girl child. This approach targets the causes responsible for the high female illiteracy rate such as poverty, early marriage and the stigma attached to girls education. Although this may be true, education is not a  major priority for the government. It has only been in recent years, that the Indian government has begun to shift their  focus to the issue regarding girls’ education.To  sum up, the insufficiency of girls’ education has drawn the attention and efforts of non-profit organizations and the Indian government to solve this issue.

Education is instrumental to the progress of a country. Unfortunately, the impact of societal expectations that is further compounded by poverty and the quality of education offered serve as obstruction in the quest for universal  education. It is often said that the progress made by the women in a community acts as the barometer of the overall progress made by the community as a whole. Although, Indian women and girls have achieved significant headway in their quest for education and success there is significant progress to be made.

References

Approach on Women Education, Health & Disaster. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2018, from

https://www.careindia.org/our-approach/

Educational problems of women in India. (n.d.). Retrieved December 24, 2018, from

       http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/educational-problems-of-women-in-indiaation-i  n-india/542811/ .html Our

Problems and Issues of Women Education in India. (2014, December 22).

     Retrieved December 19, 2017, from    

http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/problems-and-issues-of-women-education-in-india/44862

The status of women’s education in India . (2016, July 14). Retrieved December 21, 2017, from

      http://safecity.in/the-status-of-womens-education-in-india/

Willen, L. (2017, October 16). The Groups Fighting for Girls' Education in India. Retrieved

      December 20, 2017, from

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/10/the-groups-fighting-for-girls-educ

Williams, R. (2013, March 11). Why girls in India are still missing out on the education they need.

Retrieved December 19, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/mar/11/indian-children-education-opportunities