"Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process."
Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant for girls and women. This is true not only because education is an entry point to other opportunities, but also because the educational achievements of women can have ripple effects within the family and across generations. Investing in girls' education is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty. Investments in secondary school education for girls yields especially high dividends.
Girls who have been educated are likely to marry later and to have smaller and healthier families. Educated women can recognize the importance of health care and know how to seek it for themselves and their children. Education helps girls and women to know their rights and to gain confidence to claim them. However, women’s literacy rates are significantly lower than men’s in most developing countries.
The gender equity enshrined in the Constitution of India has helped greatly to reduce the gap between men and women. Access to higher education has enabled women to execute work on par with men. Higher education for women is necessary for character building, acquiring the ability to earn and the development of capacity for self-expression.
Introduction and Scope
Over the past few millennia, the status of Indian women has been subject to many great changes. From a largely unknown status in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. But looking at the education, it is immediately visible that the female literacy rate in India is lower than the male literacy rate. Compared to boys, far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out. According to the National Sample