EMPOWERING WOMEN IN INDIA BEGINS WITH EDUCATION
Funny
isn’t it that several laws exist all over the world regarding women rights and
yet they still end up being discriminated? In India too such laws are quite in
abundance but they are rarely implemented in letter and spirit. Some laws exist
on paper but are rarely known by those who are affected by them directly or
indirectly; how can they know or understand those laws made for safeguarding
their rights?
They are unable to read or write even their own names so to
expect them to understand what empowerment of women is all about will be quite
similar to asking a monkey to speak mandarin.
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| Wake up India !!! |
Empowerment
of women in India is much related to the level of literacy in general and in
particular for women. By rough estimates it is suggested that more than 75
percent of the women population in India is uneducated. Though the official
figures are not so discouraging but in my country public officers are
everything except public servants.
You can enact 1000 laws that could empower
women but who will tell those women that they are protected by such laws? How
will they understand the legal ‘jargons’? How will they read the newspaper to
know that ‘Law xyz’ has been passed in the parliament empowering them? These
questions add to my pain and to the dilemma of empowering women in India in all
aspects.
For
me the real empowerment of women can only come from education. If women are
educated in India they will become aware of what is going on around them and
when they are aware they can respond accordingly. Education can only ensure
that women know their rights and are also able to exercise them without any
obstacles.
If we exclude the urban areas of India; the rate of female education
in rural parts of the country is dismal. The majority of families in rural
India does not send their girls to school and some who do cannot afford to let
them pass the primary level which is often thought of as adequate for any
‘girl’ to get married to a decent suitor. The underlying thought pattern is
that girls need no education to be ‘successful’ in life.
Their success largely
depends on their looks and fertility as well as cooking abilities. The denial
of education to females in India is a guarantee that empowerment of women can
actually never take place. Laws require two elements for their success; one the
knowledge of laws in every one related or affected by such laws and secondly
the implementation of these laws. In my country both elements are generally
absent.
The majority of women are unaware that there are certain laws that can
not only protect their rights but also empower them to do a lot more than they
are ‘allowed’ to do by their male family members. This unawareness is linked
directly with them being ‘uneducated’ or ‘isolated’. And for the lucky few who
happen to know of such laws; the implementation procedure is so cumbersome or
unpractical that they prefer to forget the whole issue than stand up for their
right and fight.
You may ask why we cannot make the implementation easier. Yes
we can but even for that purpose the women of India need to be educated enough
to propose such changes. So in the end, empowerment of women in India will
remain a dream unless we ensure that all women are educated at the same level
as their male counterparts in the society.
This is a true reality for people in a lot of places in the world. Is there something that we can do to help respond on a grass roots level?
ReplyDeleteSo are you saying that in your country, it is not mandatory that everyone attend school?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. Women need education to be empowered. I have tried to explain this to my daughter repeatedly. I was always afraid something would happen and I would have to have my college degrees to fall back on.
ReplyDeleteEducation is always the key. We support the Because I Am A Girl Campaign. http://imperfectwomen.com/because-i-am-a-girl-campaign-raise-your-hand-for-education/
ReplyDeleteI agree that education would help immensely with this issue. It sounds like there should be some public education efforts as well to address the long-standing cultural and societal influences working against girls in India. If daughters are raised by parents who don't emphasize the importance of an education, how can they be expected to pursue it?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that education is important. Unfortunately I worry that unless the male population agrees it will not matter how much "education" we give.
ReplyDeleteI am always saddened when I read things like this post. You would think that in this day everyone would be able to read and understand their rights. I hope that soon things will change and all of the women and others in the world will know how to read
ReplyDelete