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When i beleive in all these, i also have to acknowledge the fact that it is not easy and it is not going to happen over night. It will take years for something as basic as education, which we take for granted to reach some girls in our country. There are many girls for whom school is a dream.
Every girl is born into a unique environment. The environment consists of her family, neighbours,community, religion, geography of her location, economy of her community, so forth and so on. Every aspect plays an important part in shaping her as a person. No common rule is going to be suitable for the whole girl child population of a country. Because the effect they are going to have on a child will also vary according to her environment and the impact of her environment. This has to be accepted. The environment and needs of a girl born in a remote village of Rajasthan is not the same as a girl born in Mumbai or a girl born in Delhi or even in a remote village of Tamilnadu or Kerala.
But one fact can never be denied, that education can create a common platform for all the girls from various background, religion and communities to mingle with each other, learn and share. This is the first step to growth that many like me dream about. Education might not give them complete freedom like we dream, as most of the girls are bound by the rules of the family, community and religion, but it definitely empowers them to think differently and fight for a change. That is the need of the hour. Education is the window to the world. For some girls it might open the gates to great opportunities, but to many it will be a weapon to fight against oppression at the basic level like their home. Quality education can equip them to question baseless practices and norms in a society with confidence. Knowledge is powerful as it raises voice against beliefs. Education also gives strength to women to organize, take control and lead. Education has the capacity to liberate a woman socially and economically.
To achieve this i believe education has to be made holistic. Education should be designed in such a way that it fosters good reading skills. Along with a curriculum, it should provide them an opportunity to read works of great authors. As part of education, every school should be provided with a good library which should be well stocked. Also every school should have an active forum where these girls can read, discuss, analyse and debate about various topics. Making education compulsory till higher secondary level for girls is a must if the government has a strong opinion about changing the lives of girls in our country. Public education system should provide for the education of girls till higher secondary. It also should provide enabling facilities like time to time counselling and guidance to girls in schools which will help them deal with the stigma they face regarding various issues in their day to day life. I understand it is difficult for a government to counsel each parent in this country, hence it is imperative that strict action be taken against parents who do not send their girls to schools. Also by giving free education to girls till their higher secondary, a great burden it alleviated from the shoulders of parents who are poor and cannot afford to send their kids to schools.
Girls should grow into woman of substance. In a patriarchal society like ours education is the only key that can slowly liberate women from the deep rooted dogma. If men need to be educated on how to respect a woman, women need education so that they will start respecting themselves and will start questioning boundaries with the backup of a strong ideology.
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