Friday, April 12, 2013

Required: Unequal Access to Education for Women

The Struggle of Women to break The Shackles of Patriarchy and Create an Individual Identity has been well Documented. But we Still have a Long Way to go in Creating a Level playing Field for our Women.

Addressing the International Women’s Day forum on March 8 this year, Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General said, “An investment in the education of women and girls is an investment in our own security, prosperity and future of the planet. We know that when women and girls receive more education, they are able to contribute greatly to their families, villages and nations as successful workers, healthy mothers, and full participants in the political life of their countries.”

From breaking the cycle of poverty to enhanced employment opportunities and better health, the benefits of educating girls and women are well-documented. For example, according to a report recently released by United Nations Development Programme, the GDP of countries such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia could be raised significantly if women in those countries were employed at the level of many developed countries. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development report, Women’s Education in Developing Countries, documents, “The evidence is overwhelming that education improves health and productivity and that the poorest people gain the most. When schools open their doors wider to girls and women, as well as to boys and men, the benefits multiply. Indeed, failing to invest adequately in educating women can reduce the potential benefits of educating men. This failure exacts a high cost – in lost opportunities to raise productivity, to increase income, and to improve the quality of life.”

The most pivotal long-term solution to breaking the vicious cycle of social and economic exploitation of women is to empower them through education. On paper, women in India enjoy equal status to that of men. Striking a positive note towards women empowerment, the government of India had declared the year 2001 as “Women’s Empowerment Year” in order to promote the vision “where women are equal partners to men”. From the concept of ‘welfare’ in the seventies to ‘development’ in the eighties and then to ‘empowerment’ in the nineties, our laws, development policies, plans and programmes have aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres. In recent years, the empowerment of women has been recognised as the central issue in determining the status of women. The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local levels.

But the reality still smacks of a wide gender disparity in the very basic literacy level. According to Census 2011, the effective literacy rate (age 7 and above) are 82.14% for men and 65.46%. And with states like Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand, where women literacy is at 52%, 53% and 56% respectively, contributing to the cause, we have bridged the male-female gap in literacy rate from 24.84% in 1991 to only 16.68% in 2011.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
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