View of EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION

(1)

Vol. 05,Special Issue 03, (IC-WESD-2020) March 2020, Available Online: www.ajeee.co.in/index.php/AJEEE

EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION Ms. Amrita Singh

Faculty of English Literature

“If you educate a man, you educate an individual; education contributes to his individual growth; it becomes his „private property‟, as it were. But when you educate a woman, you educate the entire family!”

― Dada J.P. Vaswani Writer:- Ms. Amrita Singh is a Faculty of English Literature and has a teaching experience of 5 years in a reputed CBSE School. Author being an educationist believes that Education is the most important means through which a developing country like India can achieve the long-awaited goal of Women Empowerment.

Abstract:- Empowering Women through Education: "Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process." (—ICPD Programme of Action, paragraph 4.2) Education is the key factor for women empowerment, prosperity, development and welfare. Discrimination of women from womb to tomb is well known.

There is continued inequality and vulnerability of women in all sectors and women oppressed in all spheres of life, they need to be empowered in all walk of life. In order to fight against the socially constructed gender biases, women have to swim against the system that requires more strength. Such strength comes from the process of empowerment and empowerment will come from the education. Today women play the leading role in developing the society. Society cannot be created without the active contribution of women.

In India women do not use their rights and neither are considered independent to take any decision. In order to provide equal status in the society women need to be empowered.Women‟s empowerment in India is heavily dependent on many different variables that includes geographical location (urban/rural), educational status, social status (caste and class), and age. Policies on women‟s empowerment exist at the national, state, and local (Panchayat) levels in many sectors, including health, education, economic opportunities, gender-based violence, and political participation. However, there are significant gaps between policy formation and actual implementation at the community level. Women can be empowered only when they are literate and educated.Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom for development. Of Indian women today, the female literacy levels according to the Literacy Rate 2011 census has been 65.46% where the male literacy rate has been over 80%. Being literate or having only primary education is not enough to enhance productivity or to obtain better-paying jobs but it is essential for women to pursue the higher education.Even beyond literacy there is much that education can do for women‟s rights, dignity and security. Therefore, this research paper discusses the impact of literacy and education on empowerment of women as well as the suggestion to improve the changes that need to be considered for women empowerment and economic development.

Keywords:- Women, empowerment, education, inequality.

1. INTRODUCTION

Education is a key factor for women empowerment prosperity, development and welfare.

The status of women in a complex society like India is not uniform. The dynamics of the future call for knowledge leadership. India today can boost of a large educated manpower, which is crucial for the socio-economic growth of any nation. Education also brings a reduction in inequalities and functions as a means of improving their status within the family. Empowerment can be viewed as means of creating a social environment in which one can make decisions and make choices either individually or collectively for social transformation.

The empowerment strengthens the innate ability by way of acquiring knowledge, power and experience (Hashemi Schuler and Riley, 1996). Empowerment is the process of enabling or authorizing individual to think, take action and control work in an autonomous way. It is the process by which one can gain control over one‟s destiny and the circumstances of one‟s lives. There are always a number of elements in the society which

(2)

are deprived of their basic rights in every society, state and nation, but these elements lack in the awareness of their rights. If we enlist such elements from the society, then women would top this list. In fact, women are the most important factor of every society. Even though everybody is aware of this fact, but nobody is ready to accept this fact.

As a result, the importance which used to be given to women is declining in today's society. As a consequence of this growing tendency of underestimating women such as to make them occupy a secondary position in society and to deprive them of their basic rights, the need for empowering women was felt. Empowering women has become the focus of considerable discussion and attention all over the world. Today we enjoy the benefits of being citizens of a free nation, but we really need to think whether each of the citizens of our country is really free or enjoying freedom, in the true sense of the term.

The inequalities between men and women and discrimination against women are an age-old issue all over the world. Thus, women quest for equality with man is a universal phenomenon. Women should equal with men in matters of education, employment, inheritance, marriage, and politics etc. Their quest for equality has given birth to the formation of many women‟s associations and launching of movements. The Constitution of our nation doesn't discriminate between men and women, but our society has deprived women of certain basic rights, which were bestowed upon them by our Constitution.

2. HISTORY OF WOMEN EDUCATION IN INDIA

Although in the Vedic period women had access to education in India, they had gradually lost this right. However, in the British period, there was a revival of interest in women‟s education in India. During this period, various socio-religious movements led by eminent persons like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidya Sagar emphasized on women‟s education in India. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Periyar, and Baba Saheb Ambedkar were leaders of the lower castes in India who took various initiatives to make education available to the women of India.

However, women‟s education got a fillip after the country got independence in 1947 and the government has taken various measures to provide education to all Indian women.

As a result, women‟s literacy rate has grown over the three decades and the growth of female literacy has in fact been higher than that of male literacy rate. While in 1971 only 22% of Indian women were literate, by the end of 2001 54.16% female were literate. The growth of female literacy rate is 14.87% as compared to 11.72 % to that of male literacy rate.

2.1 Importance of Women Education

“If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a woman you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India empowered”. PT.

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU. Women education in India plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. It not only helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at home and outside.1 If it is said that education is the key to all problems, then it won't be improper. Thinkers have given a number of definitions of education but out of these definitions, the most important definition is that which was put forth by M. Phule.

According to M. Phule, "Education is that which demonstrates the difference between what is good and what is evil". If we consider the above definition, we come to know that whatever revolutions that have taken place in our history, education is at the base of them. 2 Education means modification of behaviour in every aspect, such as mentality, outlook, attitude etc. Educated women not only tend to promote education of their girl children, but also can provide better guidance to all their children. Moreover, educated women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the population.

Education has far-reaching effects- The education of parents is linked to their children's educational attainment, and the mother's education is usually more influential than the father's.Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant for girls and women. This is true not only because education is an entry point to other opportunities, but also because the educational achievements of women can have ripple effects within the family and across generations. Investing in girls' education is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty. Investments in secondary school education for girls

(3)

yield especially high dividends. Girls who have been educated are likely to marry later and to have smaller and healthier families. Educated women can recognize the importance of health care and know how to seek it for themselves and their children.

Education helps girls and women to know their rights and to gain confidence to claim them. However, women‟s literacy rates are significantly lower than men‟s in most developing countries. An educated mother's greater influence in household negotiations may allow her to secure more resources for her children. Educated mothers are more likely to be in the labour force, allowing them to pay some of the costs of schooling, and may be more aware of returns to schooling. And educated mothers, averaging fewer children, can concentrate more attention on each child. Besides having fewer children, mothers with schooling are less likely to have mistimed or unintended births.

This has implications for schooling, because poor parents often must choose which of their children to educate. Closing the gender gap in education is a development priority.

The 1994 Cairo Consensus recognized education, especially for women, as a force for social and economic development. Universal completion of primary education was set as a 20- year goal, as was wider access to secondary and higher education among girls and women.

Closing the gender gap in education by 2015 is also one of the benchmarks for the Millennium Development Goals.

This paper attempts to analyze the status of Women Empowerment in India and highlights the Issues and Challenges of Women Empowerment. Today the empowerment of women has become one of the most important concerns of 21st century. But practically women empowerment is still an illusion of reality. We observe in our day to day life how women become victimized by various social evils. Women Empowerment is the vital instrument to expand women‟s ability to have resources and to make strategic life choices.

Empowerment of women is essentially the process of upliftment of economic, social and political status of women, the traditionally underprivileged ones, in the society.

It is the process of guarding them against all forms of violence. The study is based on purely from secondary sources. The study reveals that women of India are relatively disempowered and they enjoy somewhat lower status than that of men in spite of many efforts undertaken by Government. It is found that acceptance of unequal gender norms by women are still prevailing in the society. The study concludes by an observation that access to Education, Employment and Change in Social Structure are only the enabling factors to Women Empowerment.

2.2 Strategies for Women Education

It is sure that an imperative need to develop an action plan for girls' education making it a priority area in school education. Education of the girl child needs special focus in the content of achieving universalization of elementary Education. The latest national programme on Education for Girls at Elementary level (NPEGL) itself is not capable for joining the gap between literacy rates of boys and girls at the school stage. A lot of issues are faced by the girls in the socio-cultural context and modernization. All the commissions stressed on the need for giving essential education to girls and focused on parents also through motivation campaigns.

We should be aware of the following facts such as:-

1. Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) is possible only when all the girls are educated along with boys.

2. Traditional role of girls should change. Both girls and boys need to grow economically and playmultidimensional roles for successful life.Girls need special attention in Education. So, democracy cannot flourish politically, without the education of girls.

3. Should obey the constitutional obligations to provide special focus to girls' education.

4. Many laws are enshrined in the constitution to protect the rights of girls.

5. Economic and social progress can't attain without girls education. These factors are necessary to attain girls' education. We should utilise cultural, political and constitutional provisions to attain this.

(4)

2.3 Constitutional Provisions Supporting Women Education

Constitution of India provides a large consideration to the welfare and development of children and women. There are a lot of provisions for children as it not only grants equality and prohibits discrimination of caste, sex and creed but also protects childhood from exploitation and abuse. Within the democratic frame work, legislation, development policies, plans and programmes have been formulated for the total development of children.

Major constitutional provisions on the girl child are:-

 Article 14 " …equal rights and opportunities to men and women.”

 Article 15 "…. prohibits discrimination on any ground.”

 Article 23 ". . . forced labour are prohibited.”

 Article 24 ". . .No child below the age of 15 years shall be employed to work . . ."

 Article 42 " provisions for just and human conditions of work and maternity relief . ..

 Article 45 ". . . Free and compulsory education for all children. "

 Article 47 ". . . raising the level of nutrition and the standard of living. "

 Article 73 & 74 ". . . participation of women in the political and grass root development process . . ."

These are some of the favourable constitutional provisions to girl children of our country.

Retention is the main problem. The girl student‟s enrolment is most often done, but retaining them to the whole process is very difficult.

3. BARRIERS OF WOMEN EDUCATION

There are many barriers to female education like parental preferences, and social values.

People think that to spend money or time on daughters would be in vain because they have to be at home. But their son would run their families. Most of the rural people give education to their daughters to learn read, write and count the money, then they think that it is sufficient and feel proud that they have done their duty very well.

Some of the major barriers are listed blow:-

 Inadequacies in Teaching Learning environment

 Parental preferences

 Social and religious values

 Poverty

 Lack of efforts for resource mobilization

 Inadequate school facilities

 Shortage of female teachers

 Gender bias in curriculum

 Teacher competencies

 Basic Teaching amenities

 Ineffective administrative supervision and monitoring

 Pardah system

 Low retention and high dropouts

 Working as domestic servants etc.

According to a 1998 report by U.S. Department of Commerce, the chief barrier of female education in India are inadequate school facilities such as sanitary facilities, shortage of female teachers, gender bias in curriculum and also conservative cultural attitudes

3.1 How to Promote Women Education

Some of the factors that may encourage women education is given below:-

 Through giving parental motivational campaigns.

 Residential schools for girls.

 Parental associations should be formed to encourage and to take care of girl‟s education. Various schemes and progammes by state and centre government should be implemented to promote girl‟s education.

 Arrange community awareness programmes.

 Imparting basic amenities including building and toilet facilities will promote women education.

 Promote gender sensitivity in curriculum

 Give Natural Learning Experiences (NLE)

(5)

 Promote Activity Based Learning.

 Provide apt counselling in apt time.

 Appoint counsellors in Schools.

 Organize co-curricular activities

Women empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities of women. Women‟s empowerment in India is heavily dependent on many different variables that include geographical location (urban / rural) educational status social status (caste and class) and age. Policies on Women‟s empowerment exist at the national, state and local (Panchayat) levels in many sectors, including health, education, economic opportunities, gender-based violence and political participation. However, there are significant gap between policy advancements and actual practice at the community level.

Empowerment of women is essentially the process of upliftment of economic, social and political status of women, the traditionally underprivileged ones, in the society. It is the process of guarding them against all forms of violence. Women empowerment involves the building up of a society, a political environment, wherein women can breathe without the fear of oppression, exploitation, apprehension, discrimination and the general feeling of persecution which goes with being a woman in a traditionally male dominated structure.

Women constitute almost 50% of the world‟s population but India has shown disproportionate sex ratio whereby female‟s population has been comparatively lower than males.

As far as their social status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the places. In the Western societies, the women have got equal right and status with men in all walks of life. But gender disabilities and discriminations are found in India even today.

The paradoxical situation has such that she was sometimes concerned as Goddess and at other timeand at other times merely as slave.

4. CONCLUSION

“Education is the key for self-liberation.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

Gender equality and women's empowerment are human rights that lie at the heart of development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Despite the progress that has been made, six out of ten of world's poorest people are still women and girls, less than 16 percent of the world's parliamentarians are women, two thirds of all children shut outside the school gates are girls and, both in times of armed conflict and behind closed doors at home, women are still systematically subjected to violence.

Women empowerment connotes “Economic Empowerment” which implies a better quality of material life through sustainable livelihoods owned and managed by women,

"social empowerment" which means a more equitable social status for women in society,

"Legal Empowerment"that suggests the provision of an effective legal structure which is supportive of women‟s empowerment and "Political Empowerment" means a political system favouring the participation in, and control by women of the political decision making process and in governance.

It is rightly said that “Women are the engines of the Indian economy but our contribution is ignored” Jayati Ghosh which is firmly true to its each and every word because even being a nation in India preferences are given to men. This article looks at how far women education and empowerment play an important role towards the sustainable development in various ways. To draw a theoretical framework, the article contributes to show that there is a relation between women empowerment and sustainable development. The article is divided into three major parts:-

 Abstracts based on women empowerment:- According to a conceptual framework done by Chen and Mahmud (1995) for the empowerment of women which includes the four dimensions and one dimension named as cognitive dimension depicts the changes in the level of knowledge, skills and awareness of the wider environment.

Under this framework, livelihood-base explains the area in which women could change themselves. Just a a two faces of a same coin a similar theory was developed by Friedman (1992) which is based on the concept of empowerment describing the knowledge and power. Friedman depicted three kinds of power :- social, psychological and practical, but social and psychological power are more similar to the concept of power. Social power is understood as information, knowledge and

(6)

skills. So, the study had taken Chen and Mahmud (1995) and Friedman (1992)`s concept relating to power The cognitive dimensions and social power are more related to the concept of power and empowerment. Resources such as knowledge and skill are considered as an important instrument towards women empowerment.

 Framework-Women education and Empowerment:- In this section we are illustrating the role of women`s empowerment. Education to women is the most powerful weapon for the empowerment of women. According to factual evidences it is also proved that there is a positive relationship between education and empowering women for sustainable development of any nation. It is also observed that higher education provides better employment opportunities and enhances the income of women. On the other hand employment is improving women`s empowerment for the same reasons i.e. just because of women`s own earnings or their share in family income increasing their understanding of money, participation in making financial decisions of the family or for their own financial independency.

 (According to Mason and Smith 2003) Even according to Chaudry (1995):-Women who are educated had demonstrated a better ability in handling their own economic independency, to improve house-hold management, and are more capable enough to save money and contribute more to the family income.

5. FRAMEWORK OF DEVELOPMENT

The above figure describes the theoretical model of women empowerment. In the above figure it is depicted that women`s empowerment is highly influenced by the intellectual and financial resources. Apart from this number of theories have also supported that resources such as occupation, educational attainment and income play a vital role in the empowerment and sustainable development of women power.

5.1 Socio-Economical Development of Women at par with Women Education

Increase in productivity and increased female autonomy is the result of Socio-Economic Development and Women Education. It has also proved that women education and empowerment plays a vital role in the sustainable development of any nation too. On the other hand educating a woman and empowering her can be considered as a major factor of reducing fertility. It is also said that education of women tends to have lower levels of morbidity, mortality and disability and have fewer children (Ross & Mirowsky, 1999) In one of the study of Ross & Mirowsky, 1999 it is depicted that education teaches women to have cognitive skills that is going to help them learn throughout their lives, which in turn help them to adopt healthier practices.

(7)

With the help of above figure it is proved that education; employment and income of women help to reduce the poverty level and increases the development of the country. Even many theories supported that when a women has more resources such as education and income, she will have more power to work. On the other hand, women education and empowerment are very important for the sustainable development as it expands knowledge and skill which helps to survive in the society. When women are empowered and employed they will be capable enough to contribute to the family income which even is going to reduce poverty.

Therefore it can be concluded that women play an important role directly or indirectly in the socio-economic development of the country.

REFERENCES USED

1. http://www.unfpa.org/public/

2. A.M. Sultana. “Socio-cultural dimension of women discrimination in rural communities”.

3. J. Friedmann, “Empowerment: The Politics of Alternative Development”. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, UK. 1992.

4. K.O Mason, & H.L. Smith. “Women`s Empowerment and Social Context: Results from Five Asian Countries”. The paper was presented at the Rock feller Foundation`s Bellagio Study and Conference Centre, 2003.

5. M. Chen, & S. Mahmud, “Assessing Change in Women`s Life”.

6. P. Chaudry, “Women`s Education in India”. Haran and, New Delhi.