New Delhi, October 13 – In the novel, A Thousand Splendid Sons, Khalid Hosseini frames the role that education needs to play in a woman’s life. The lines have stayed with me long after the book was read- “I know you’re still young but I want you to understand and learn this now.
Marriage can wait, education cannot….And I also know that when this war is over Afghanistan is going to need you as much as its men maybe even more. Because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated. No chance.” These lines resonate with most women across the subcontinent, which accounts for the maximum number of child brides globally.
It is a proven fact that societies where women contribute have developed faster than others. 51.1% of the professional workforce in the United States is made up of women. In India, only 29% of women above the age of fifteen are part of the workforce.
Why is this scenario so skewed? Amidst all the optimism of a young growing economy is the bleak reality that in India, those that are privileged to receive an education and aspire to join the workforce are predominantly men. The proportion of India’s women in the work force is sadly among the lowest globally.
And if you immediately assumed this is due to India’s majority rural population, you are mistaken. Even in the corporate sector that is largely urban-centric and women-friendly, the scenario is bleak.
A recent report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation revealed that there are only 350 women in boardroom positions across 1,470 publically listed firms in India. An overwhelming 8640 positions were held by men. Despite a new company law board act that mandates the presence of at least one woman director on every board, only 50 % of the companies have complied so far.
I often rely on statistics to debunk myths and stereotypes we nurture. For one, women in rural areas are not the only ones that are oppressed, forced to drop out of school, marry early and lead a totally dependent life on her husband, in-laws and later on her children.
Rapid urbanisation and migration in search of better prospects have increasingly blurred the differing realities of urban and rural populations. Lack of education and early marriage are grave issues that affect more than50% of India’s women. Many ask me how these two seemingly disparate topics are related.
The answer is simple. An overwhelming 87% girls who have been married off before the legal age of 18 have less than ten years of formal education. They did not have the opportunity to even finish school! While poverty and high dowry are two key reasons to marry girls off early, the need to keep girls safe is another reason stated.
By refusing education to girls and marrying them early, parents don’t realise that they are subjecting their girls to lives of deprivation. They lose their ability to be independent, earn a livelihood or fend for themselves in eventualities like death or grievous injury to their husband.
Even worse off are women who are forced to stay silent despite domestic violence and/or abandonment by their spouse. Most women, across urban and rural areas choose to stay in abusive relationships due to total economic dependence and lack ofan alternate recourse.
Parents of girls need to be made aware that early marriage perpetuates a vicious cycle of abuse and other violations. We need to subdue the culture of silence around the violation of women’s rights.
Urban women that are fortunate to have secured an education and be independent are a miniscule minority. They, unfortunately cannot speak for the majority of India’s female population.
Education empowers, enables and emboldens women to not suffer in silence. I often quote theheart-warming story of the bold young women of UP, who left their marital homes because they felt the need for a toilet to be built at home was non-negotiable.
Education increases not just awareness, but the ability to negotiate your rights too. Often, these issues that do not affect our immediate circle become invisible and irrelevant to us.
We need to ensure they become part of urban conversations to prevent the ‘othering’ of these critical issues. Making education for girls mandatory can also help shape a new generation that realises the premium of good education and being independent.
The recent statement of NarendraModi that the dignity of a woman needs to be our collective responsibility gives me a lot of hope. As he puts it, ‘the main issue is the education of the girl child. By doing so, the possibility of empowerment of women will increase’.
-INDIA TODAY
