INTRODUCTION
Women are a subclass in India. It has been a constant challenge for Indian government specially amongst increasing in women’s population and decrease in their education level. Education for a girl child is very necessary to prevent child marriages and sexually transmitted diseases. As a result government has introduced many important strategies like ‘Five Year Plan’ to achieve literacy level by providing free primary school for all children. All the plans by government were not quite successful. For example ‘The Pre Natal Diagnostic techniques act’ fails to understand the reason behind the discrimination against girls in India as well as the explanation behind gender biases. Simply putting ban on sex detecting technologies cannot help to change the traditional views of some societies and consequently girl child still faces the problems of malnutrition and infanticide. Education is far from their reach. It is really a duty of elected representatives to gap the bridge between customs and traditional beliefs of that society. It is also very important for Indian government to recognise the failure of anti-discrimination laws in general and the Pre Natal diagnostic techniques (regulations and preventions of misuse) Act, in protecting the rights of a girl child in Indian society. Because, it shows the inabilities of leaders to comply with accepted international standards. Making political, economic and educational resources available to women can bring the gender discrimination to an end. There would be immeasurable benefits to be achieved by nation through reducing women’s gender, class and geographic inequalities in education and by providing them access to employment and resources, such as reducing India’s fertility rates, easing tension on federal budgets and improving productivity of the work force by supplying better educated worker. It is horrifying to see lack of school in some rural areas like Bihar, just as they often lack consistent electricity, water, proper roads and medical services.
It is important to understand how the Women’s Convention administers the issues of girl child. The introductory paragraph of Article 10, suggests all state parties to “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education” education of a girl child determines the quality of her life. A girl child cannot understand her freedom without education. Right to education is a civil and political right similar to economic, cultural and social right. The concept of right to education originated as a goal in the Universal Declaration of human Rights, the convention against discrimination by UNESCO first included the right to education in a binding treaty. Two international documents by the UDHR, UNESCO convention against discrimination in education and the ICESCR most significantly affects girls right to education: (1) the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, adopted in 1979 and entered into force in 1981 and (2) the conventions on the rights of the child (CRC), adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1990. It guides the state party’s to supply all children with same conditions for career, exams and teachers.
There are many factors which contribute to gender discrimination in education. The most prime factor is social disinterest. As the society in which a girl child is raising determines the availability of education to her. Sometimes it is religion which restricts a girl child from enjoying her right to education.
School are the most important platforms to distribute sex education at early age to avoid sexually transmitted diseases but gender gap keeps the girl child’s away from this information. Without the benefit of this information they risk being forced in early intercourse and become victims of early pregnancy and infections.
Article 10 of CEDAW, states that “The signatory states must take all necessary measures to eliminate discriminations in education, and must ensure that women have access to educational information that will help secure the health and wellbeing of families”.
Culture plays the role of a biggest obstacle in the way of the right to education of a girl child. Many families consider that the marriage is more important of their daughter than education. Marriage grants girls an adult status and makes them accept responsibilities of parenting and domestic works. If a girl does not marry early, as a penalty to her parents the society makes them double dowry. Girl child are often employed as a child domestic workers (CDW) because of lack of education and often face sexual, emotional and physical abuses. Education is the only way to empower a girl child socially and economically. India has introduced a national educational programme which specifically focuses on rural girl’s primary education. The initiative successfully brought ninety percent of rural children to primary education.
The most important role of various conventions is to consider a child as an individual and a member of family and community. The biggest challenge before Indian government is to spread awareness into society about the importance of a girl’s education and its benefits to societies.
In attempt to restore the lack of female representative in the legislative bodies, the Indian government amended the constitution in 1992 (with the seventy third and seventy fourth amendment) to reserve one third of seats for female in local government this amendment helped women understand that their participation in politics would solve many problems they face as women and it gives them a good social status. The government of India also introduced campaigns which also inform potential women to take political leadership. The government of India increased expenditure on education from 0.64 % of GDP in 1951 to 4.1 % in 2001. This action resulted into sharp increase in enrolment of girls and rural and rural children into primary schools. About 90 % of urban girls and 92 % of urban boys were enrolled into schools, while only 83 % of rural boys and 75 % of rural girls were enrolled. The percentage of rural children aged 11-14 enrolled into schools were 79 % rural boys and 61 % of rural girls while 83 % of urban girls and 85 % of urban boys. In rural part of the country, while 25 % of girls aged 6-10 and 38 % of girls aged 11-14 were not enrolled in schools. The government of India has made numerous efforts to join law and ethics. This is very problematic, if not difficult, to do in a society in which the laws are not thoughtful to the morals. The legislature also introduced the MTP, anti-dowry Act, anti-sati laws to increase women’s education and employment opportunities. The right to education is precisely introduced from international human rights perspectives and from the perspectives of constitution of India. The right to education is constitutionally protected as a social and economic right. It also gives importance to achieve full realisation of this right.
The Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85) planned to give singular attention to educationally backward states and socially deprived groups innovatively. It recommended changes in school hours which were more appropriate to local conditions, and planned a non-formal system of education with the exact objective of retaining as many children in school as possible, it presented inducements like free noon meal, supply of uniforms and educational materials and reimbursements to the families of scheduled caste and scheduled tribes girls. The plans also made provisions requiring educationally backward states to raise their existing rates of admission. While emphasising the need for increased admission and preservations of girls in schools, it planned to assign day care centres, known as Balwadi-cum-creeches for babies in order to enable girls who started sibling care duties to attend the school. It also planned income generation work for girls outside schools hours to increase family income, to offer residential quarters for teachers, to underscore the necessity to fortify the teaching of science in girls’ schools, and expressed the policy of employing female teachers in rural areas to inspire girls education. The seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90) supported the current systems and amenities and also highlighted the role of local communities in the completion of these objects. Programmes such as ‘Operation Blackboard’ and other programmes for teacher’s education were launched to advance school amenities and study non-formal education. In 1986, the planning commission studied the National Policy of Education (NPE) and expressed numerous new suggestions taking these improvements into consideration. The encouragement of growth of advanced and cost-effective complementary programmes like Open Learning System (OLS) was established for the needs of girls. This plan is more focused in educationally backward areas rather than urban areas. The Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) mainly focus on the abolition of gender inequality in admissions, and removal of gender bias and stereotypes in programmes and text books.
Article 10 of CEDAW states that, governments are obliged to take all appropriate stapes towards the “elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all level and in all forms of education by encouraging education and by the revision of text books and school programmes and the adaptation of the teaching methods”. The 93rdamendment of constitution also states that, ‘the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen’. The world declaration provides special attention towards the girl child, it states “girls must be given equal treatments and opportunities from the very beginning”. The declaration and plan of action comprised a list of ‘strategic objectives’ to develop the condition of a girl child. The research shows that the issues faced by the girl child are so strong that many of the Women’s Convention supporters were uncomfortable about becoming associated with the children’s treaty. The government of India uses SHG (Self-Help Groups) as one of the main policy to improve rural girl’s livelihood.
PROBLEMS WHICH ARE ALWAYS FACED BY A GIRL CHILD
If a girl child is facing lack of independence, it can be considered as a form of violence. Family violence is defined as ‘any act of commission or commission by family members and any condition resulting from such acts and inaction, which deprive other family members of equal rights and opportunities and/or interfere with their optimal development and freedom of choice’. Early marriage is also a form of violence because; it restricts the educational opportunities of a girl child. After early marriage there are less chances of educational attainment. This inequality which are always faced by Indian girls, hinders there progress to achieve different skills which are necessary for them to achieve certain levels of literacy. Consequently, the low literacy level and lack of different skills hinder many opportunities of developing work skills. This concept is widely famous as ‘Vicious circle’ or ‘vicious cycle’.
It is irrelevant whether the government introduces many laws against child marriage or abuses that follows from these practices, when there is no education and awareness among those for whom it is made up for. Another reason which contributes in this problem is, inadequate facilities in the schools an poor working conditions. Which ultimately results into dropout rates of rural girls? The percentage of dropouts in rural areas is way higher than the urban areas. Statistics shows that 3.8 % of rural girls and 3.0 % of urban girls never attended schools.
Many girls chose prostitution as there way of earning to escape poverty due to lack of educational opportunities. However, higher education does not guarantee female more job opportunities as compared to male.
Lack of sex education sometimes results into early pregnancy and it also involve chances of getting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
Lack of educational opportunities is the main reason for female enslavement and subordination. It hinders the ability of a girl child to socialise, have intellectual stimulation and have her own identity. Increasing cost of secondary education also results into dropouts of girls, as parents prefers their son to learn. According to professor Muntarbhorn. ‘Developing countries girls have fewer educational and occupational opportunities than boys’.
OBSTACLES OF CULTURE AND RELIGION IN GIRLS RIGHT TO EDUCATION
It is a common cultural belief in rural India that, the education for girls I pointless since she will end up working in the house or in farm. The uneducated and inexperienced girl is considered as untouched and virgin in many rural areas and she ultimately receives better proposals for her marriage. Cast system also plays a very vital role as an obstacle to a girl child’s educational rights. Though the constitution of India grants women the same rights equivalent to men, but there suppression follows from the social custom, from religious principles and practices. Traditionally parents want to invest in the education of their son and skill development. Because, a girl is always a topic of her marriage and children. While males learn to become family provider, female learn child bearing and domestic duties. Married young girls do not generally possess educational rights, therefore child marriage violates the educational rights of a girl child. It deprives them of potential independence as well as violating the CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child) provisions.
Islamic law, commonly known as Sharia Law, as interpreted by Islamic fundamentalists, asks wives to submit to their husband. It also insists that girl to wear a veil if they want to leave the house. It permits to have multiple wives it also encourages girls to marry in early age just to ensure her virginity and severely restricts employment opportunities of female. In all these circumstances how a girl child even expect to become an academic intellect. Religion and cultural based inequalities in sharia law restricts girl’s education by socialising. Fundamentalists of Islamic Law consider they the pioneers and use literal interpretation of the scriptures; they show female as soldiers of holy war in which they have to fight to save the tradition and values of Islamic law. Fundamentalists of Islamic laws also believe that, ‘education for a female destroys the traditional boundaries and definitions of sex roles and dissolves women’s traditional functions are entirely true’. Religious laws destroy a girl child’s educational rights.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) asked for the prevention of the veils which causes equal access to a girl child to education. The lack of sex education in Muslim girls increases the risk of HIV/AIDS because of the allowance of dangerous polygamy system in the religion.
Just like the Quran, the Bible also contains the language to place women in subordinate position. For example, Ephesians 5:22-24 reads, ‘wives, submit to your husband as the lord. for the husband is the head of the church and his body is of which he is the saviour, now as a church submit to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything’.
Hindu Dalit school children’s and teachers also go through the discrimination by the upper class people in India. It is very challenging for a Dalit girl to have access to education in such environment. According to the report of ‘India Education’ in 2002, School attendance of Dalit girls in 1993-94 was 46.2 percente while it was 61 percent from the girls of other groups. Reservations in educational institutions and scholarships for Dalit students signify a serious component in Dalit socio-economic developments.
SOLUTIONS
To achieve the goals of education among the girl child’s and children’s from India, government has initiated a programme called ‘Operation blackboard’. This scheme includes fifty percent of teachers which are recruited would be females. Another scheme called as ‘Sarvashikshan Abhiyan’ is introduced for universal elementary education throughout the nation. This scheme runs under the principles of Indian constitution as the education would be compulsory and free for all children under the age groups of 6-14. The state of Kerala is the best example of high literacy level among girl child. As a result it faces low infant mortality rate, low birth rate and low death rates as comparing to the rest of the nation. The most important way to educate girls is to conduct programmes for married girls to go back to schools. Due to their immobility these programmes should be conducted at a very close distance which is convenient for everyone to attend. Villages should be the main focus for educational programmes because, if the Indian villages are paradise, then the school is a paradise within the paradise. Those who face obstacles from the traditional hierarchy or prejudice should be given more focus if we really want to achieve the basic level of education attainment among all citizens.
To elevate the status of young girl’s education is a central aspect. It is more important for the Indian government to take initiative to remove the gender discrimination which causes a lot harm in the ratio of female literacy. Enhancement of access of education to all on the basis of equality and non-discrimination are the two broad components of the legal standards on the right to education.
One of the main ways to implement efforts for change is through advanced human rights education. Preferably, human rights education should take place at two levels: in the public and in schools. It should sponsor equality and inspire students of all ages to think for themselves.to analyse fundamentalist ideas about Islam and to inspire children and grown-ups to show women and girls as equals, human rights administrations should either unite withorganizations such as WLUMLand SIS to access and increase pre-existing groups or follow the models used by these groups. By leading workshops, seminars, discussion groups, and leadership sessions in addition to creating networks and keep on conducting education efforts, UN organizations might be more operative in removing the difference.
CONCLUSION
We cannot permit the old traditions and customs of our societies destroy the future of young girls of the nation. Law cannot stand silent, it must change with the changing social ideas and standards. if the old pointless traditions keep their roots in the society even for couple of more decades , it will certainly take the country’s progress many decades back. Likewise, if the law fails to respond to the needs of changing society, then either it will smother the development of the society and choke its progress or if the society is vital enough, it will put aside the law, which stands in the way of its progress. Law must, therefore, continuously be on the move familiarising itself to the fast changing society and not wait behind. It must cast away the hindering legacy of its past and undertake a dynamic role in the process of social revolution.
Education is the very important jewel by which human beings involve and cooperate with society, and through which the human mind progresses. The vibrant process of education remains one of the most important issues for both evolving and advanced nations in order to elevate humanity. While education among young girls has continued to be a strategic goal in many nations for many decades, the credit of a right to education with possible national and international law enforcement mechanisms is of latest origin. The fact that nations attempt to enforce policy issues through rights-based methods underlines the authorizing dimension of rights in public policy treatise. It is dangerous to make young girls face poverty, injustice, and waste related with the mass violation of the right to education because of immature traditions. As a opening right, education is a essential to individual dignity and individual growth. It possibly provides a resource to train children to become valuable members of society and to contribute effectively in democracy and freedom. General literacy programs, education for women, and better anti-discrimination laws not only improve political stability, they also incline to rise economic and sex ratio stability. The good example is in the Indian state of Kerala, where sex selection for births has been mainly overcome through developments in education and legacy laws for women. As a result, Kerala was the only state in India that had a more population of females than males in 1991.
