“Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor.” – Nelson Mandela.
Using Education For Social Empowerment
When Abha decided to stick to her dream of completing education, facing every roadblock head-on, little did she know about Nelson Mandela, neither was she doing it just for her personal development. It was just because she had already seen how it worked — how education could help her get a decent job, earn some decent money, just to help her parents lead a decent life.
Supported by JJBVK, a local non-profit organisation in Samastipur, Bihar, supported by CRY – Child Rights and You, the young girl managed to convince her parents to let her continue her studies and not give in to the societal pressure of marrying her off due to abject poverty.
Today, when she wears her khaki uniform to report to the Bihar Police as a constable, everyone around her looks at her with pride. Single-handedly, Abha has changed the destiny of her family.
Years ago, her parents, a daily wage earner and homemaker, wondered if they were doing the right thing by giving in to their daughter’s dream of pursuing her education, despite their socio-economic condition. They didn’t know how simple, and yet, revolutionary was the decision that their daughter had made.
The Role Of Education In Empowering Women
Kofi Annan put it very simply when he said, “To educate girls is to reduce poverty.” And in this simple sentence lies a whole depth of truth. We know how reducing poverty can lead to solving myriad societal problems. This is why at CRY, we truly believe that educating girls holds the master key to changing the gender narrative in India.
CRY has seen the bigger picture through its journey of working with children’s rights for over three decades.
The discourse on gender equality and the significance of girls having equal opportunities, with lives free from discrimination and violence, has steadily gained prominence.
The genesis of this dialogue is rooted in giving girls equal access to education and a safe and healthy environment in school premises so they stay in school. While enrollment into education has improved remarkably in India, it is imperative to universalise access and retention to ensure that girls don’t drop out somewhere in the middle and stay at school until they complete their education.
Education enhances critical thinking, thus, allowing more complex skills to be built. Schools do not just foster learning from books; they are also the sites for socialisation, sports, building self-confidence and leadership skills.
It has been proven time and again that when one girl realises her potential with the help of supportive conditions, often she will pay it forward to build a conducive environment for more girls like her, creating a ripple effect. Ask me and I can show you hundreds of such stories from our intervention areas.
Working For Child Rights And Women Empowerment
Hailing from the slums of Jahangirpuri, Delhi, Sheetal is a national-level kickboxing champion. When project Saksham believed in her dreams and helped her pursue them, Sheetal, for her part, dove in headfirst to work towards the rights of children. She led an anti-alcohol campaign, persuaded a rag-picker to pursue her education and solved a clean water crisis in her neighbourhood.
Sheetal won the Gold Medal in the Open Delhi Kick Boxing Championship in 2017 and gradually ventured into National-Level Championships, bagging the Gold Medal in the 7th National Rural Games organised by Rural Games Federation of India the same year.
Today, Sheetal is a student of Bachelor of Arts pursuing her training as an NCC cadet. She aims to empower women by helping them find the courage to stand up against a regressive mindset. The biggest insight she gained through education is that the only way to conquer a demon is by confronting it.
Using Self-Defence As A Tool For Empowerment
For Lakshmi, from CRY’s project area at Taratala, Kolkata, however, sports have a completely different definition altogether. She admits that she was scared of walking the dark lanes in her neighbourhood for fear of being harassed and teased. She recalls how timid and weak that fear used to make her feel. However, going to school regularly and understanding that feeling safe is her right helped her rid that fear.
“Now that I am a black belt in Karate, I want to teach self-defence skills to other girls in my community so that they are not scared to walk the dark lanes alone. Deep inside us girls, there is courage, confidence and skill. We just must use our strengths correctly to protect ourselves and overpower the attackers,” says the 15-year-old.
The sole importance of education for girls lies in raising this awareness that girls do matter.
When girls stay in school to complete their secondary education, the impact is far-fetched — lower fertility ratios, reduction in early pregnancy, well-planned and, thus, healthier motherhood, lesser domestic violence rates and amplified voice of women in decision-making, including financial matters within the family, thus, bridging the gender gap.
And in only the Indian context, estimations suggest that promoting women’s equality has the potential to improve GDP by $770 billion by 2025 (McKinsey & Company, 2018).
As we conclude, let us echo Michelle Obama, who summarised it best — “When women are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous. In creating women of tomorrow who will participate more, not just in the workforce, but also in the growth and development of the nation, education is a game-changer.”
No other observations can be closer to the truth.