“I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves,” says Mary Wollstonecraft.
She was one of the earliest advocates of educational and social equality for women from in the 18th century. Brought up by an abusive father, she left home and dedicated herself to a life of writing and went on to become a pioneer in literature and philosophy.
Her book “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” published in 1792 is considered one of the trailblazing works of feminism. She argued that the educational system of her time deliberately trained women to be inferior and incapable. She pointed out that an educational system that allowed girls the same advantages as boys would result in women who would be not only exceptional wives and mothers but also capable workers in many professions. This is the right way to preach feminism, with her views being pro-women but not anti-men.
Personally, I have seen the change an educated lady can bring to generations to come. In spite of being a Muslim woman in a small town, my maternal great-grandmother was among the few educated ladies of my town. She was one of the first government-appointed lady school teachers in that area. She was able to influence so many families to maintain higher standards for women’s education and pave the way for change in my small town. Now after four generations, we still reap the benefits of her far-reaching actions leading to so many well educated and self-independent women in my family.
While pondering about women’s education in India, one may wonder how most of the roadblocks still exist in this day and age. Clearly, women still have a much lower literacy rate than men. Far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out. In the conservative cultural setting of the Indian family, most of the girls have lower status and fewer privileges than male children. Lack of education is clearly one of the main reasons why so many women are still being subjected to injustice and discrimination in India.
But this year’s Women’s Day seemed something special. Many women from India actively participated in movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp, thereby starting conversations on critical issues like gender-based violence and discrimination. So this might be the right time to take a closer look at our education system and see what can be improved and know how each and every one of us can contribute to this cause.
Current Scenario Of Women’s Education
The number of literate women among the female population of India was between 2–6% from the British Raj onwards to the formation of the Republic of India in 1947. Concerted efforts led to improvement from 15.3% in 1961 to 28.5% in 1981. By 2001, literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low compared to male literacy within India. And India still remains a country with one of the lowest female literacy rates in Asia. India is working towards fixing this but the pace is slow as we haven’t achieved what we should have achieved a long time ago.
Women’s education in rural India is still very low compared to urban areas because of the following reasons.
- Poor economic condition of the parents.
- Parents are also illiterate and ignorant about the importance of education for their girl child.
- Parents do not see the value of educating a daughter who would get married and remain a housewife.
- Interest of the girl’s education is subdued by that of marriage at an early age.
- Schools are not available within reachable distance to the place of dwelling. This causes parents to feel insecure about girls traveling long distances.
- Schools not having proper sanitary facilities like accessible toilets.
- Lack of female teacher in the schools to give moral support.
Because of these simple reasons, women are being deprived of education and thus are also deprived of formal equality and a life of dignity.
Some of these issues are at a grassroots level and can be improved by social movements and widespread awareness. And others can be addressed by the government policies and initiatives.
Special Initiatives And Literacy Programmes For Women
As women’s education is a matter of national concern, the Indian government has put into place some good initiates to improve the situation. Learning about these initiatives will give each one of us a chance to spread awareness.
Among these initiatives, the most important are listed below.
- National Literacy Mission Programme
- Saakshar Bharat Mission for Female Literacy
- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
The good work done by these initiatives is event recognized by UNESCO in their publication titled “Literacy Programmes with a focus on women to reduce gender disparities”. It will be of great value if we, the so-called ‘educated people’ of India, spend some time in understanding these initiatives and make sure that they are being implemented properly in our localities. We have to remember that a mother’s lap is the first school for a child. So, if we can educate even one woman, she will educate many generations to come, just like what my great-grandmother did with our family.
Although we have a long way to go, it will be encouraging to see more and more literacy programs and better anti-discrimination laws for women. As Napoleon said, “Give me an educated mother, I shall promise you the birth of a civilized, educated nation.”
We have to recognise that the true empowerment of the nation is only possible by empowering women through education. And we all should recognise lack of education of women as an impediment to national development.
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