Women’s education plays an important role in the development of the family as well as the nation. Although there has been gradual progress in the status of women in education, given today’s changing educational and technological landscape, there is a pressing need for comprehensive development and advancement in women’s education. It is important to mention a recent report that concludes that approximately 15 million girls worldwide are deprived of primary education. This report was released by UN Women, an organization working for women’s empowerment. It states that while significant improvements have been made in gender equality in primary and secondary schools in recent decades, there are many areas where gender inequality remains deeply entrenched. Regarding school enrollment, the status of women at the primary and secondary education levels has improved significantly. However, the harsh reality is that the number of women who drop out after enrolling is significantly higher than that of men. In some places, 48.1 percent of girls are still out of school. Revolutionary changes in the digital sector have transformed the educational landscape at every level. Therefore, merely being educated is no longer enough; becoming technologically proficient and continuously progressing in skill development is the key to keeping up with this changing landscape. The latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are becoming more and more sophisticated. Significantly, the impact of artificial intelligence is beginning to be felt in the field of education. According to a recent report, women’s participation in the data and artificial intelligence fields between 2018 and 2023 was only 26 percent. A report by the UN’s women-focused unit states that social systems are a major reason for women’s inability to access proper primary education. It is noteworthy that gender inequality and discriminatory thinking are still deeply ingrained in our social landscape. The adverse effect of this thinking is that access to education is a major challenge for girls. A large number of girls enroll in schools, but are forced to drop out midway. One of the main reasons for this is early marriage. and excessive domestic responsibility. Among children under the age of fifteen, 3.2 percent of girls are out of school, compared to 2.7 percent of boys. According to another report, 68 percent of the world’s countries have policies supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, but only 50 percent of these policies focus on women’s education. Clearly, policy deficiencies or policy failures are largely responsible for the stagnation in women’s education. To address this, a series of large-scale and comprehensive efforts will be required. The first and most important effort is to eradicate conservative thinking and unnecessary prejudices at every level – individual, society, and nation – as this is the biggest obstacle to women’s education. Substantial improvements in infrastructure will be necessary, ensuring the availability of resources from a women’s perspective at every level, from primary to higher education. Another important aspect is that since online education has become increasingly advanced today, women’s digital literacy should be prioritized from the outset, enabling them to adapt to the latest educational landscape and environment. An educated and successful woman is a role model not only for a family but for the entire nation. With this in mind, efforts should be made on a war footing to address the shortcomings in education that particularly affect women. In India, a large portion of the country’s population lives in rural areas, where patriarchal ideology still prevails. Consequently, women are either unable to pursue education, or even if they do, they are unable to progress very far. Furthermore, women’s insecurity, a pressing issue in our country, is a major obstacle to women’s education. Fear of insecurity prevents many parents from sending their daughters abroad for education. Although the government has implemented “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” and other important schemes, it’s difficult to say how successful they are in practice. While we are moving forward with the dream and resolve of becoming a more developed nation, challenges like gender inequality and female illiteracy remain a stark reality. Today, there’s a need to address these challenges and obstacles as quickly as possible, because as long as they persist, the dream of becoming a developed nation can never be realized. Education today is no longer limited to books; it’s also expanded through online resources, virtual platforms, and digital media.
While ‘Batty Save Daughter Teach’ and other important plans have been implemented from the governance level, it is very difficult to say anything about how successful they all are in practice. We are moving forward with the dream and resolve of becoming another developed nation, while challenges such as gender inequality and women’s illiteracy stand before us as a stark reality. Today, we need to get rid of these challenges and obstacles as soon as possible because the dream of becoming a developed nation can never come true so long as they exist. Education today is not limited to books, but has expanded to online resources, virtual platforms and digital media. Science and technological progress is the backbone of today. The world’s economy, education, health and social infrastructure have been based on technological development. Promoting science and technology in a developing country like India is the priority of the nation. The progress of the country can be multiplied if women are empowered in this area.
Author is a Retired
Principal Malout Punjab |
