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Education Women Empowerment

Major Problems of Women Education in India

We educate women because it is smart. We educate women because it changes the world. – Drew Faust

Our attention is instantly drawn to the issue of women’s education in India. Due to conservative traditionalism, the standing of women has always been viewed next to than that of men in our nation.

Because of the reliance of women on males for financial support (families didn’t think its important to provide education to girls), they were mostly seen as subservient to men. Despite the fact that women are now increasingly accorded the same status as males, the majority of them continue to live in abject ignorance. More women than men suffer from ignorance and illiteracy, and this scourge is particularly pervasive in rural areas and underdeveloped communities.

Role of Indian Women

Women have a crucial role in fostering civic virtues, reviving the economy, and enacting social changes, as is becoming increasingly clear. Recently, more emphasis is placed on their education due to the rapidly changing situations in the nation. Despite several commissions and committees being occasionally created who give recommendations to address the issues with of women education, several issues still persist in that area.

The primary issues with their schooling are:

(i) An appropriate curriculum for women education

(ii) Lack of social awareness in women

(iii) A lack of female teachers

(iv) Absence of adequate physical infrastructure

(v) Unwillingness of female instructors to work in remote locations;

(vi) Financial challenges

(vii) Transportation issue

(viii) Issue of stagnation and waste

(ix) Issue with co-education

(x) Lack of excitement and attention on the part of the education officials

Problems of Girl Child Education in India

The education of women and girls is essential to the prosperity of a country. The actions done to advance and broaden their education should not be neglected for want of funds. It must be kept in mind that there is still a significant achievement disparity between the schooling of boys and girls, and that in India, the mother serves as the central character of the home. She is essential to our way of life. Therefore, it is crucial that the programmes incorporated for women and girls remain in place.

There is a close connection between the educational process, social and economic life of a nation. Every woman should receive training on how to earn a decent livelihood and life her life to her fullest potential.

In a nation as impoverished as India, there should be zero tolerance for training waste. In recent years, Indian women have experienced a significant awakening. Women’s education is progressing gradually in spite of all barriers and challenges.

They are starting to have an impact on world events. Equal rights are demanded across the nation. In fact, it is pretty evident that there is a huge difference in the education levels of men and women, which has to be closed as quickly as possible.

Our daughters are extremely gifted mentally, physically and emotionally, but these talents must be nurtured and maintained until they reach their full potential as brainy women who look beautiful because of their relentless efforts and perseverance.

Smile Foundation and Women Empowerment

There may be a broader list of problems of girl child education in India that affect how women and girls participate in schools. But India is doing everything in its power to change the numbers. Women won’t stay behind anymore.

Smile Foundation has its own strategy to combat the challenges faced by women in education. It is doing a lot of work to promote women empowerment.

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Education Girl Child Health Livelihood

Improving Education of Slum Children

Education is an opportunity through which society and its people are empowered. It is a tool for economic advancements. Education aids in the social, emotional, and psychological growth of individuals and hence, the community as a whole. However, not all have been able to reap the benefits of the existing education system.

Slum children’s education in India in this context remains a burning issue. A lot of factors combine together, in keeping more than half of India’s school-going children out of school.

Slum Children in India

According to the Census 2011, there are 13.7 million slum households across 63% of India’s towns. The residents of these households include migrants, half of them being among the poorest of the poor. More than eight million children under 6 years live in approximately 49,000 slums. There are 22.72 million children (age group 5-18) living in urban slums who are out of school.*

The migrant population in India is mostly illiterate and constantly on the move, in search of new livelihood opportunities.  Migrant children move with their parents and often lose out on age-appropriate educational opportunities. Often they engage in labor to escape poverty and support their parents.

Access to early childhood care, balanced nutrition, education, health, and recreational facilities are keys to the positive development of children.  However, in places where clean drinking water and two square meals are a struggle, slum children’s education, health and other contributing factors for development will always take a backseat.

Problems in Education of Slum Children

The Right to Education Act 2009 was expected to bring a huge surge of enrolment in urban and rural schools. However, after more than a decade there are millions of children who are out of school in India, most live in urban slums and remote rural areas. A higher proportion of girl children (3.23%)  are out of school than boys (2.77%).

Girls in slums and rural areas are out of school as they are engaged in domestic work or do not go to school to take care of the younger siblings. Boys drop out of school to supplement household incomes. Lack of healthcare facilities, absence of toilets in schools, and lack of proper nutrition also lead to an increase in drop-out rates.

Focusing on Girl Child and Women Education

The cycle of illiteracy will continue if proper steps are not taken in time to reduce drop-out rates, increase enrollment and encourage girl child education and slum children’s education. Mother is a child’s first teacher. When mothers remain uneducated they cannot fully comprehend the value of education for their children. Children of educated mothers have better access to education, proper nutrition, and timely healthcare needs like timely immunization against various diseases.

Health, Education, and Empowerment

Smile Foundation’s vision is to work as a catalyst in bringing sustainable change in the lives of non-privileged children, youth, and women, with a life-cycle approach to development.

The life-cycle approach of development starts with opening the doors of education for slum children, the underprivileged. Smile Foundation’s Mission Education focuses on bringing out-of-school children under the folds of education. So far, more than 3,00,000 children have directly benefitted from the programme.

Health Cannot Wait

Under its healthcare campaign, Health Cannot Wait, Smile Foundation’s mobile medical unit, Smile on Wheels addresses the problems of availability and accessibility of proper healthcare services for children and women, especially in urban slums and rural areas. Health camps are conducted for school-going children. The programme has so far provided free healthcare services to more than 1.5 Million children and families.

Training for Empowerment and Employment

Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman programme works extensively with adolescent girls, young and expecting mothers. Scholarships are also provided to bright young girls who perform exceptionally well in school. Healthcare services; ante-natal and post-natal care are provided to women. Adolescent girls are provided with sanitary napkins to break the stigma around periods and also to encourage attendance at school.

The STeP programme ensures young students from slums and rural areas who drop out of school receive skill training. This is done to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of skilled manpower in the fast emerging services and retail sectors of modern India. More than 75,000 youth have been trained through the e-learning programme and 47,000 have also been placed in over 400 brands. 71 percent of total beneficiaries were girls.

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Education

Power of Gen Next: Role of Children as Changemakers

Change is in the air! Around the world, more and more children are taking action to make the world a better place. They are harnessing the power of Gen Next to create meaningful and lasting change in their communities and beyond. Let’s make changemakers through girl child education India!

From organizing marches and protests to advocating for social justice and environmental protection, these young changemakers are leading the way toward a brighter future. By harnessing the power of Gen Next, we can empower children to become agents of positive change in their communities and beyond, and create a world that works for everyone.

In this blog, we will discuss the important role of children as changemakers, and explore how to unleash the power of Gen Next to create meaningful and lasting change.

What is Gen Next?

The term Gen Next refers to the next generation, in particular, the rising generation of young people aged 18-24 years old. Gen Next is often understood as the cohort born between 1995 and 2011 but is also used to refer to any person aged 18 and under.

This is because youth are often under-represented in decision-making processes, and have fewer opportunities to influence policy and decision-making.

This term emerged in the 1990s in response to the growing impact of young people and the changing nature of youth culture and is now widely used to describe young people as agents of positive change. Gen Next has been described as “a mass of connected, empowered individuals who expect to be heard, want to be involved, and want to make a difference in their own lives and in the world”.

Role of Children as Changemakers

Children and young people have been taking action to make their communities and the world a better place. But more and more children are taking action as Gen Next, and are increasingly recognized as leaders and changemakers. There are many examples of children as changemakers across the world and across different issue areas, from climate change to education, human rights to gender equality, and health to peacebuilding.

As Gen Next grows, there is a need for children and youth to be involved in decision-making processes. More and more children and young people are taking action to ensure their voices are heard and are becoming agents of positive change in their communities and beyond.

Children and young people have different perspectives than adults, and Gen Next has something to offer everyone. By involving children and young people in social change, we can harness the power of Gen Next to create meaningful and lasting change in communities, and create a world that works for everyone.

Children as Changemakers

Children and young people around the world are taking action to make their communities and the world a better place.

Benefits of Involving Children in Social Change

Children and young people have something to offer the world, and there are many benefits of involving children in social change. By including young people in decision-making processes, we can make societies more inclusive and representative of the full diversity of people and views. We can harness their energy, enthusiasm, and creativity to create positive change.

We can also create a cycle of positive change that will continue through future generations. This also helps children develop critical thinking and life skills, including problem-solving and decision-making skills. Children are eventually also able to develop empathy and a sense of responsibility for their communities and society.

Ways to Involve Children in Social Change

There are many ways to involve children in social change.

  1. Organize events that bring together community members, including children and young people, to discuss issues and find solutions together.
  2. Include children in social media campaigns and online discussions to engage with policymakers and decision-makers, and help them understand child perspectives.
  3. Hire and engage child-staff members to help with research, communications, and other tasks related to your organization.
  4. Organize events that give children the opportunity to engage with local policymakers on issues that matter to them.
  5. Engage children in creative and artistic forms of social change, such as writing, poetry, and art.

Encouraging Children to Become Changemakers

Ideas to encourage children to become changemakers.

  1. Include children in decision-making processes and give them opportunities to engage with policymakers on issues that matter to them.
  2. Create inclusive spaces where children and young people share their ideas and are heard.
  3. Appoint child ambassadors and child spokespeople to help amplify children’s voices and put them in the spotlight.
  4. Promote and celebrate children as changemakers and role models.
  5. Organize workshops and special events to engage children in social change and give them the opportunity to lead and take action.

Challenges of Involving Children in Social Change

There are many challenges to involving children in social change. Here are a few:

  1. Child participation in policymaking processes may be limited because of their limited access to decision-making processes and resources. – Some adults in society may be skeptical of the ability of children and young people to contribute meaningfully to decision-making processes.
  2. There may be a lack of space for children and young people to share their ideas and be heard.
  3. There may be a lack of representation of children and young voices in social change. To bridge the gap, let’s focus on girl child education India!

Conclusion

Children have always played an important role in social change, but with the rise of Gen Next, their role is becoming increasingly important. By unleashing the power of Gen Next, we can create a world that works for everyone, and more children can become changemakers.

Girl child education India is important in unlocking the potential of young changemakers. Smile Foundation wants to contribute to the making of young changemakers. Learn here!

Categories
Education

Equality and Education for Girl Child

To educate girls is to lead the way to prosperity. It is the best way to reduce inequalities and build communities. When we educate girls we also take a step towards reducing poverty. But around the world girl, children face discrimination in various forms. Girls do not receive adequate nutrition; they have less or no access to healthcare and there is a huge gap in the education for girls. According to a UN report, 132 million girls are currently out of school. Some of the main reasons which act as barriers for girl child education are poverty, gender bias, gender-based violence as well as lack of proper sanitation facilities in schools, etc. In India as per census, 2011 female literacy rates have increased from 18.33 percent in 1951 to 74.00 percent in 2011. But the problems that girls face to get an education still remain the same.

Challenges to Girl Child Education

Gender Discrimination in India

Girls in India face discrimination both inside their homes and outside in their communities. Inequality in India means unequal opportunities for girls. India is the only country in the world where the mortality of girls under- 5 years exceeds that of boys.*  Girls are encouraged and also engaged more in household work and drop out of school at an early age. Most of the time their movements are restricted to get an education and engage in social exchanges.

Poverty

Poverty and gender-based preference are two of the main challenges which impact girl child education. Girls are forced to stay at home or engage in daily wage labor to contribute to the income of the house.  According to a UN report, every year more than 1.5 million girls in India are married before they turn 18. They are not allowed to go to school after marriage. Eventually, these young girls become mothers at an early age which has adverse effects on the health of both mother and child.

Distance from Home

Even though 80 percent of schools in India are in the country’s villages, most of them are non-functional. There is a severe lack of teachers, proper teaching-learning facilities, and infrastructure. Children in rural areas often have to walk a long distance to reach school in a different village or city. Due to fear of harassment and violence against girls, most parents prefer to not send their girls to school.

Lack of Toilets in Schools

In developing countries like India, a lack of separate toilets for girls and boys is one of the top barriers to education. Adolescent girls frequently miss school due to hygiene-related problems and eventually drop out. Schools do not provide sanitary napkins due to extreme taboo which often lead to girls of menstruating age dropping out of school.

Smile Foundation Interventions

Girl Child Education

Smile Foundation works extensively in the field of girl child education and health. With 240 Mission education centers across 23 states of India, the organization has ensured education for every child, especially girl children. Counseling sessions are held for parents to help them understand the benefits of education for their girls. Women and adolescents girls are counseled on a routine basis on the need and importance of personal hygiene. Special sessions are conducted with mothers to reduce sex-selective discrimination. Male members of the families are educated to encourage their girls to continue their education. Young girls are trained to become confident, self-reliant and lead the way forward for nation-building.

To support girl child education, nutrition, and health visit https://donate.smilefoundationindia.org/she-can-fly

*https://data.unicef.org/country/ind/

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