17th October 2019 – The Hindu Editorials Notes- Mains Sure shot 

Question – Discuss the benefits that accrue from investing in women’s education?(250 words)

Context – Recent survey of health ministry.

Facts:

• In Census 2011, the female literacy rate was 65.46%, much lower than for males, at 82.14%.
• As per NSS 71st round report,overall 75.7% male and 62% of females are literate,in rural India 72.3% Male and 56.8% Females and in Urban India 83.7% male and 74.8% females are literate in the year 2014.

 

How women’s education can benefit society ?

Better nutrition of the child:

• The recently released Health Ministry survey that showed a direct correlation between the nutritional status of children and their mothers’ education.
• The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey, which studied 1.2 lakh children between 2016-18, measured diet diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet as the three core indicators of nutritional deficiency among infants and young children.
• It demonstrated that with higher levels of schooling for a mother, her children received better diets.
• On two counts, meal diversity and minimum acceptable diet, and in terms of bolstering food with micronutrients, the children of mothers with better education did well.

Good for Economic Growth:

• According to the World Bank, women see a 25 percent increase in wages later in life with only one year of secondary education. Female education even affects gross domestic product, with a rise of 0.3 percentage points per percentage point increase in female education participation. When women are educated, the entire economy grows and thrives.

Reduced child marriage

• Educated girls typically marry later, when they are better able to bear and care for their children.

Decreased Chance of Abuse

• Educated women are much less likely to suffer domestic abuse than their illiterate counterparts.

Decreased Child and Mother Mortality Rates

• Educated women are more likely to marry later in life, pushing back the age that they have their first child. When women have children later in life, specifically past age 18, women are more likely to survive the potentially dangerous first birth, as is their child.

Intergenerational Success

• More educated mothers mean fewer mother and child deaths and illnesses. The loss of a mother can be disastrous for the chances of her children’s survival and future welfare. Furthermore, children with educated mothers are more likely to attend school and pursue higher levels of education than their peers with uneducated mothers.

Promoting Social Inclusion

• When girls are kept out of school in developing countries, they are usually working at home on domestic chores. This social isolation of girls leads to higher levels of depression in women as well as other mental health issues. Seeking an education encourages women to develop a professional life within the public sphere, allowing them to become part of the community and develop their own identities away from the home.

Promoting Good Health

• Children born to literate mothers are 50 percent more likely to survive past age five than children born to illiterate mothers. Children whose mothers receive secondary schooling are twice as likely to receive vaccinations against major disease, promoting better health outcomes for the entire community. Another of the advantages of female education is the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. In Zambia, AIDS spreads twice as fast among uneducated girls.

Reducing Terrorism and Extremism

• Female education means greater female involvement in society and the economy. Research has found that educated women are less likely to support terrorism and militancy than men of the same education level.

Encouraging Human Rights

• When women in a society are more educated, more emphasis is placed on gender equality. As women achieve equality, human rights become a strong value of communities, as women in leadership tend to fight for disenfranchised groups.

Way forward

• Former American First Lady Michelle Obama said, “Because we know that when girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.”
• Nobel laureate Amartya Sen reasons, has clearly shown how the relative aspect and regard for women’s well being is strongly influenced by women’s literacy and educated participation in decisions within and outside the family. Investing in women’s education helps to develop the nation on all fronts.