Girl Child and Education in Rural India

In India, a girl child could mean different things to different sections of people.

While some welcome the girl child as Goddess Laxmi (Hindu deity of wealth and good luck), while others tag the girl child as a bad omen, a burden to be precise. Some say that the poorer sections of the society in India prefer to not have a girl, while some say it is the wealthy sections of people who prefer a boy, as they would take the surname and business forward.

This issue is prevalent in the rural sections of our country, where a girl child is asked to learn the household chores, way to carry her so that crooks don’t drag them off, and the worst of all, they are deprived of their basic education. The government has made it mandatory for not only the girl child but also all, to attend free schooling until the age of 14.

The gender gap is huge in our country,an adultneeds to be taught the need for educating their girl child. Today she is your daughter, tomorrow she will be someone’s wife. It is necessary for the girl child to receive basic education

The importance of education for the girl child in rural India is:

• Literacy rate

In India, the literacy rate is awful when it comes to the male to female ration. By providing the girl child education in rural areas not only these girls get a proper education but also there is a rise in the literacy rate in general.

• A change

If a girl receives education, she learns the ways of life. She learns and grows in a civilized manner. A girl child if educated knows how to differentiate between right and wrong. Mainly, she learns more than what her surrounding environment could ever teach her.

• Gender Equality

When a girl child is born, she is fed with the ridiculous fact that her brother is the main priority in the family. She is taught to dedicate her life to the family and later to her husband. She is taught that men are superior in every aspect. This way a girl grows up to be ignorant about her existence, which is awful to state. By educating the girl child she learns about the importance of gender equality, and how women too are capable of doing what men can.

To end such weird norms the government has introduced various schemes. ‘BetiBachaoAbhiyan’ is among the best schemes introduced by our honorable PM to protect and educate girls in rural India.