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 Girls Without Hope
Abysmal literacy rates for girls point to a bleak future for half the population
With nearly 70 lakh children out of school, India’s literacy rates are quite dismal. It is also among the 17 countries where survival for boys is higher than girls in primary education. According to a recent United Nations report, the male-female schism in literacy rates in Asia are widening and in India, more than half of young women aged 15-19 years have no primary education. In a society where women are mistreated and subjugated in multiple ways, oppression starts early—in this denial of a basic right. The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 makes elementary education a fundamental right of every child but mere legalalities are not enough to tide over the tremendous socio-economic hurdles that Indian parents must face when it comes to educating their girls.
A 2005 report by the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre found that government programs have failed to deliver on a large scale because of lack of resources and accountability. In nine of India‘s 35 states and territories, illiteracy rates among women are 50 percent or higher, according to figures from the 2001 India census. In contrast, no state or territory has an illiteracy rate of 50 percent or higher among males. The government programme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has boosted enrolment levels in schools but the enrolment of girls is still below that of boys. Retention also remains a major concern with more girls dropping out than boys. Lack of adequate school infrastructure, the poor quality of education and a system that is insensitive to gender, disability and caste provide little incentive for children to remain in school after a certain age, particularly when there is pressure to start earning or to get married.
Contrary to popular misconception, poor parents are often keen to educate their girls. There is growing awareness about the fact that education will empower girls to be independent and live with greater freedom and security. But they are crippled in this pursuit by a number of factors. Firstly, there is the issue of availability and access. Many states do not have enough classrooms to accommodate all school-age children. Even those that are available often lack basic necessities such as sanitation and water. Added to this are the complex problems of an intensely gender-segregated society. While poverty is a major factor, gender becomes the defining parameter when parents can afford to educate only one child. Inevitably, the girl loses out. Traditionally, boys are brought up to earn and girls are expected to marry. Often, any money spent on their education is considered an indulgence rather than a necessity. In poor families where both parents have to engage in hard labour, girls are also expected to help their mothers with domestic work and kept home for this.
Safety and security are also significant concerns for many parents. There is a shortage of female teachers and parents are often loathe to send girl children to schools staffed primarily by men. Instances of abduction, rape and molestation of girls are disturbingly common and given a choice between providing education and ensuring safety, it is easy to see what parents would choose. Girls are more likely to attend school and have higher academic achievement if they have female teachers but this is a vicious cycle. If fewer girls are educated, where are the teachers going to come from?
Even when girls are allowed to go to school, lack of adequate facilities makes learning a daunting experience. Schools may be situated miles away from their homes and in remote areas, there are few transport facilities. Traveling to and fro is a problem for all children, but especially for girls because of the additional gender-related threats. Then, after completing a certain level of education, girls have fewer options because traveling to another town or city for the next level is harder for them. Hostel facilities are woefully inadequate in most parts and with rampant instances of trafficking, safety again becomes a crucial concern.
There are other problems related to the learning environment: many parents would prefer girls to not study along with boys at least at the intermediate level but there are few girls-only schools in villages. Lack of sanitation facilities and separate toilets severely compromise girls’ dignity and many will avoid going to school during their menstruation period. The prevalence of violence and corporeal punishment in schools complicates issues even further.
Studies have found that there is a minimum threshold of education (more than 5 or 6 years)
that must be achieved before there are significant improvements in female autonomy. Decision making power within the home, economic and social self-reliance and confidence in interacting with the outside world are all important aspects to this that can be brought about only through sustained and complete education. Merely ensuring that girls attend school for a few years is not enough to bring about real and lasting changes in their lives or in the ways society treats them. Additonally, it is not enough to merely provide the infrastructure of schools; it is equally important to ensure that the learning environment is sensitive to gender problems and conducive to coping with them.
The problems are manifold and complex but solutions are needed urgently. Illiteracy has far-reaching and devastating inpacts. Illiterate women have high levels of fertility and mortality, poor nutritional status, low earning potential, and little autonomy within the household. Because women are still the primary home-makers and care-givers, a woman’s lack of education also has a negative impact on the health and well being of her family and children. Lack of education contributes to a woman’s overall lack of empowerment. It is the first and most integral piece of the puzzle that needs to fall into place if India is to ever move towards becoming a more egalitarian society.
Sources:
“Male-female gap in literacy widening: UN report”, India eNews, 19 December 2007 | Retrieved online at http://www.indiaenews.com/education/20071219/86970.htm
“India’s literacy scene doesn’t impress UNESCO”, The Times of India, 30 November 2007 | Retrieved online at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/
Indias_literacy_scene_doesnt_impress_UNESCO/articleshow/2583379.cms
“For a girl in rural India, education is a difficult pursuit”, CNN.com, 23 March 2007 | Retrived online from http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/15/girl.education/index.html
Women of the World “Women’s Education in India” By Victoria A. Velkoff, International Programs Center, October 1998 | Retrieved online from http://www.census.gov/ipc/prod/wid-9801.pdf
“Status of children in India”, Infochange Agenda | Retrieved online at http://infochangeindia.org/agenda8_02.jsp
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