The trajectory of women’s empowerment towards equality has taken a sharp fall amidst the pandemic. In the last two decades, the path we covered to liberalize women socially and economically seems to have been pushed back by this covid-19 pandemic.
The prolonged lockdown has affected all sections of the society, but the most and consequently the larger effect can be seen on the children, especially on the girl child. The post-pandemic situation may bring back most of the male students but not most of the female students because these types of emergencies escalate pre-existing inequality and increase during the current crisis.
- In the last few decades, girls’ academic achievements compile a 92.15% pass rate in class 12 against 86.19% for boys in the 2020 CBSE Board exam.
- According to UNICEF, child marriage accounted for 50% in 2000, which has been reduced to 27% today.
At this juncture, adolescent girls worldwide, comprising one-tenth of the world population, are facing a never-before situation. The most affected are the poor and the marginalized girls of our society. A report of UNICEF shows that:
- One in three adolescent girls from the poorest family has never attended school.
- Only 25% of the poorest girl from underdeveloped or developing countries complete primary education.
According to the RTE Forum in India, 10 million girls can drop out of school in this covid-19 pandemic. Poverty, patriarchy, poor infrastructure of schools play a different role in putting them into vulnerable conditions. The main contributing facts are:
- School closure: There are 368 million school-going students across 143 countries affected by sudden school closure. In India, girls among the siblings are mostly delegated with additional household or child care works preventing them from continuing study at home.
- Gender biases in the family: The survey has shown that if there are four children in a house, the boy will get a mobile or internet connection for online educational purposes. Only 12% of girls have access to the internet against 35% of boys.
- Reduced financial resources: Lack of financial resources leads to deduction in educational expenditure, often promoting child marriage or child labour to reduce the burden.
- Death: The death of the bread earner of the family forces girls to engage in works. The traffickers are more active in these crises to catch their prey. This leads to the increase of sex work or women trafficking.
Post covid-19 situation needs well-planned strategies of the Govt and the concern of the society to combat the wide gap created by the pandemic.
- Financial allocation to the schools, especially public schools.
- Economic support to the low-income families who have no resources left to educate their children.
- Gender-responsive remote learning programs through Radio, Television, etc.
- Monitor girl’s attendance after reopening of the school.
- More emphasis on online education in National Education Policy.
India has succeeded in empowering women by launching various Government programs like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, etc. but to get back our girl child again on the track of education a localized approach. Back to school campaign should be undertaken more widely and to the grass-roots level by the conscious citizens to enrol every dropout students who have lost in the darkness of this pandemic crisis.