There are approximately 34 million adolescent girls out of school. Another shocking fact is that two-thirds of the 796 million illiterates are women. According to the 2011 census, the male literacy rate is 82.14% and the female literacy rate is only 65.46% in India. All these statistics certainly reveal the kind of discrimination that women face in today’s world.
According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate of men is 82.14% and that of women only 65.46% in India. All these statistics certainly reveal the kind of discrimination that women face in today’s world.
Education is as important as air, food and housing for both men and women. Girls in India are considered a burden on parents by some people. People think that girls must first be raised, then married and sent to another house, while boys are considered the legal heirs of the family.
They are considered the guardians of parents in their old age. People think that investing in a boy’s education would be beneficial rather than a girl’s, since they will go to another house.
People think that women are sent to Earth just to cook, clean and give birth to children. Because of this thought, girls suffer and they are ignored. Things have got so much worse that some of the girls are killed before birth in the mother’s womb and if they have given birth; they are despised by the family. Some are killed after birth too.
The fundamental problem with this is that in India, a lot of importance is attached to marriage. People in India think that the ultimate home of a girl is her husband’s house and that her fate should remain confined to the four walls of the house.
People will not be bothered to spend so much on a wedding as on a girl’s education. For this reason, all girls must give up their dreams. One person can not be blamed but the entire society is responsible for the fate of the girls. People do not realize that educating a girl is as important as educating a boy. Whenever a girl has the opportunity to prove her abilities, she has always proven herself.
Education has a global impact on girls. Education makes a person strong mentally, socially and intellectually by increasing our knowledge. Educated girls are confident. They can make decisions on their own and become self-reliant.
They can earn for themselves and take care of their families. They are independent and do not depend on men to validate their existence.
After the wedding, they can help their husband financially and add to the family income. They will take care of their children and help to educate and transmit good values.
Someone rightly said, “If you educate a man, you educate a person, but if you educate a woman, you educate the whole family and a nation.”