Girl Education : Education is the only key to empower girls.
Across history it has been seen that women have been neglected on all fronts. Be it education or labor, the position of women has always been lower in comparison to that of men. This is because it was thought that women did not possess the capability to take in education and that education would not serve them any purpose. This whole argument however can be construed in light of men trying to have everything for their own and designating work that is to be done in the domestic sphere to women. In India it was not until Raja Rammouhan Roy that the importance of education for women could be established.
There is another thing over here that is to be understood. During earlier times, there was a distinct division between public life and private life. Women were not allowed in the public sphere because they were not meant to take part in it, while in the private sphere men did not play any significant role as such. The distinction of these two spheres resulted in the standard of education for women to be centered around subjects matters of the household.
While the distinction of social life took place there were women who did not pay heed to these concepts and tried to establish themselves all on their own. Such an attitude led to the development of women as a social category in general and education of girls and women in particular.
One thing that has to be noted over here is that although we are referring to the female population as women they were actually young and can be termed as girls. In those days, girls would be married off at a very early age, especially if her father was poor and did not have sufficient money to sustain the daughter of the family.
Girl education has developed over the years. In places where there were no signs of girl education, girls have begun to enroll themselves in schools and other educational institutions. In India under numerous schemes of the government, several benefits are given for the education of a girl child.
For single girl children studying in schools and colleges several scholarships have been announced. These scholarships are given so as to provide girls with an incentive in learning. In many parts of India however girl education is still a myth. There are even regions were the birth of a girl child is unwelcomed.
Even though we have moved ahead so much in time, there are many among us whose mentality has not changed. Even a few years back cases of female infanticide were reported from the northern parts of the country. What is to be remembered in this case is that even before independence it was states like Rajasthan and Gujarat where female infanticide occurred on a massive scale. Even the abhorrent culture of sati and jauhar prevailed in these regions.
It seems, till this date there has been no change in the mindset of the whole of the population. On a more serious note, above everything, we should all learn to respect girls and women first. That is the key to every prospect of development surrounding them. Education of the girl child will follow subsequently.
