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FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA

The role of women in the social and economic development of any nation cannot be ignored. Both women and men act equally as two wheels of society and lead the society towards progress. Given the equal role of both, it is necessary that they are given equal opportunities in all other areas including education, because social progress will not be possible if one side is weak. But the practicality in the country is probably different, according to the 2011 census, the female literacy rate in the country is only 64.46 percent, while the male literacy rate is 82.14 percent. It is noteworthy that female education in India literacy rate is much lower than the world average of 79.7 percent.

Female education in India

Promotion of Female Education in India

In the present time in our country, education has become very publicized. According to the latest statistics, about 73 percent of the entire population of India is educated. Article 45 of the Constitution of India provides that it is the duty of the state to provide free education to children up to the age of 14 years. 64.6 percent of women in India are educated. Urban women outnumber this percentage. After independence, there has been a widespread promotion of education in our country. The percentage of education has increased in the states of Kerala, Mizoram, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, etc. Kerala is the first state in the country, where districts like Kottayam-Anarkulam are 100 percent educated.

There are many reasons for the lack of education in girls. The biggest reason was our centuries of slavery, due to which the girls were not allowed to move out of the house due to the fear of the British and they were responsible for chulha, chowka, housekeeping, and giving birth to children and their upbringing. Time has changed and today women are coming forward in every direction.

IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN EDUCATION

To become self-sufficient

Female education in India builds confidence, self-esteem within women that they can discover their potential and they are on the path to new ideas and innovation. Education removes gender discrimination. Women are able to take their decisions. Educated women are independent in today’s world.

Caring for the family in a better way

If women are educated, the whole family benefits from it. If a woman is educated, she can educate the entire household. The knowledge that women at home receive through education is used to take better care of their children, this means proper immunization, child education, health, hygiene, etc.

Between 1970 and 1995, child education led to a decrease in child malnutrition. Educated women can improve family income and family status and today they are able to solve family problems due to education.

Strong Economic Condition

Because of this, the coming generation will be weak. We can’t count all the benefits of female literacy, but it can definitely be said that an educated woman can fulfill the responsibility of her family and children well, give them knowledge of good and bad. Social and economic work in the country contributes to progress without women’s support.

By educating a man, we will be able to reach only one person, but by educating a woman, we will be able to reach the whole country. Lack of female literacy weakens the country. Therefore it is very important that women are given the right to their education and in no way be considered less than men.

Benefits in Community and Society

Women’s education plays an important role in finding solutions to problems related to social stability. Due to which the community and society become more prosperous. Survival rates, schooling, and community productivity are increasing with the reduction of mother and infant mortality as a result of female education in India.

Nation’s Progress

An educated female faces all types of challenges such as in the field of agricultural production, food is capable of self-sufficiency, the fight against environmental degradation, and the conservation of water and energy, leading the nation on a path of progress.

Decrease In Female Feticide

Female feticide cases are also mostly due to uneducated women because their families convince them to commit female feticide by entangling them in traditions and conservative ideologies. But when the woman is educated, she will know whether she is a son or a daughter, both are equal, so they will oppose female feticide and there will be a fall in female feticide.

Reduction In Gender Discrimination

In our country even today discrimination is done on the basis of sexuality, it is generally seen more in the village because women are not educated there and therefore not conscious of their rights. If they are educated, they will be able to fight for their rights and root out problems like gender discrimination.

The Decrease in the dowry system

At present the dowry system is getting encouraged because most of the girls are not educated and some girls are less educated, then they are worried about their future, that they will spend their lives in rising inflation. How will you be able to live? So their parents give them dowry and marry them. If girls are educated, they will not have to face any practice like the dowry system and will also be able to live their life fearlessly with their chosen partner.

Get Rid Of Orthodox Ideologies

Women are not educated by citing orthodox ideology as we are a male-dominated country in our country. They are told that what I will do by reading more or by educating them, they should go ahead and eat so we have to make it so most people do not pay attention to their education. If a woman is educated, she will also teach her daughters, due to which the orthodox ideology will end.

THE ILL EFFECTS OF UNEDUCATED WOMAN

Exploitation Of Women

If women are not educated, then they will be exploited in every field, they will be tried to degrade everywhere and at the same time some people will also be cruel to them, so currently women must be educated.

The Dominance Of Orthodox Ideologies

If the woman is not educated, then people of old opinions will impose their views on them. Through which the development of women will never happen and the dominance of men will always be maintained in our society.

Increasing Gender Discrimination

If women are not educated then gender discrimination is bound to increase because some greedy people always try to degrade women and some people want only sons in their house to seduce educated women. It is due to which she too will inadvertently promote linguistic discrimination by coming to their talks.

Declining Social Level

A good society can be imagined only when the women there are educated because if they are not educated then their children will not be able to be educated and will also adopt wrong ideologies so that the social level of the society is down Will fall

Obstruction In The Economic Development

Almost half of the population of our country is women and even if there are no teachers, they will not be able to do some work, due to which half of the population of the country will only work for the food which can save less money in the country.

GOVERNMENT’S EFFORTS FOR WOMEN’S EDUCATION

‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ was launched in 2015 to address the issue of declining child sex ratio across the country. It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Human Resources. Under this, objectives such as preventing female feticide, increasing the number of girls in schools, reducing the number of school dropouts, enforcing the right to education rules, and increasing the construction of toilets for girls.

  1. The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme was started in the year 2004 to provide primary level education for girls especially in areas with low literacy rates.
  2. Mahila Samakhya program was started in the year 1989 as per the goals of the National Education Policy 1986 to improve and empower the female education in India.
  3. UNICEF is also working with the Government of India to provide quality education to girls in the country.
  4. Apart from this, Jharkhand has also taken a major initiative towards the up-liftmen of women education.
  5. Jharkhand School of Education has decided to distribute free textbooks, uniforms, and notebooks to all the students from class 9 to 12.

REASON STAY BEHIND IN FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA

The factors that prevent Indian women from becoming educated and mainstream are mainly social. Below we will go through a summary of such factors with a brief description.

Patriarchal Society

Indian society is a male-dominated society. Women are not given equal social status as men and are confined to the boundaries of their homes. However, the situation is different in urban areas, where women are more educated and employed; Rural areas account for 70% of the Indian population, yet lag behind on gender equality. Educating a woman or a girl child is considered a non-profit undertaking in such societies. In many rural societies, women are considered an obligation, which eventually has to be transferred to another family after marriage.

Gender Discrimination

While we one day make rapid progress to become the superpower of the world; Gender inequality is the reality that still screams in our society today. Even educated and working urban women are not isolated from experiences of gender bias, not to mention women from rural areas.

In some industries, women are paid less than men with similar credentials. Their efficiency for a particular task or project is lower than their male counterparts. Women are grossly underestimated for promotion or for performing responsibilities. Such gender discrimination discourages women from being educated and achieving their aspirations.

Crime Against Women

Women in India are more vulnerable to violence and danger than men. Many crimes against women are still prevalent in Indian society, such as dowry, domestic violence, prostitution, sexual harassment, etc. Such crimes only prohibit women folk from getting out of their homes and entering schools or even offices.

Lack Of Security

Although successive governments have worked to provide a safe environment for Indian women at home and at work as well, much remains to be done. Women working in even the safest cities in the country do not have the courage to make the transition alone in the late-night hours.

School going girls in rural areas are harassed and teased. Such incidents are also responsible for the high female school dropout rate. It is the responsibility of the government and society to ensure the safe passage of a girl to school while ensuring her education.

OBSTACLES IN WOMEN’S EDUCATION

Indian society is male-dominated. Women are not given equal social status as men and are restricted to the boundary of the home. Although the situation is better in urban areas than in rural areas, the fact cannot be denied that even today the majority of the country’s population lives in rural areas.

We are making rapid progress to become the superpower of the world, but the challenge of gender inequality still stands before us as a harsh reality. Even many educated and working urban women in the country experience gender inequality.

This myth is quite prevalent in the society that the efficiency of women for a particular work or project is less than their male counterparts and that is why there is a huge difference in the average salary of women and men in the country.

Women’s safety remains a big issue in the country, due to which many parents hesitate to send girls to school. Although much work has been done by the government in this area, all those efforts have failed to address this issue fully.

CONCLUSION

The level of female education in India has increased considerably in urban and rural areas. However, special schemes have been launched for women in rural areas. Along with educating women in the villages, employment opportunities should be increased for them so that they can earn a good income and live well for their families.

There is an urgent need to make Female education in India comprehensive and time-bound again. The government has included free and compulsory education for children in the age group of 6–14. In such a situation, it is to be hoped that after some time, improvement in women’s education will be possible. It is also necessary to make education business-oriented to inculcate love towards education in girls. This work can be done better by encouraging cottage industries. The governance of India is dilapidated in both the Central level and the state level. It is also impossible to formulate and implement concrete plans without a strong and stable session. How far we can get ahead in the field of women’s education in the near future, it will depend on the development of our system and resources.

About the author

Dasharath Maurya

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