Gazi Md. Abdur Rashid :
Women education refers to every form of education that aims at improving the knowledge, and skill of women and girls. It includes general education at schools and colleges, vocational and technical education, professional education, health education, etc. Women education encompasses both literary and non-literary education. Educated women are capable of bringing socio-economic changes. The Constitution of almost all democratic countries, including Bangladesh, guarantees equal rights to both men and women. Primary education is now a fundamental right. When a woman (or a girl) is ensured of her rights, the society at large is ensured of its sustainability. In many countries, the literacy rate is low in case of women and in the developing countries the rate is very low and in poor countries the literacy rate of women is worse. In developing countries, women are considered as second grade citizens. In case of women, even before coming out of the womb of the mother the discrimination starts and it continues till their death
There are several reasons for low literacy rate in case of women and they can be summarized as follows :-(1) Cultural barriers: – In several cultures, boy is treated as the person who looks after their parents and this is the main reason for negligence in girls. There are some religious barriers for not ensuring women education. (2) Poverty: – Poverty is another main cause of illiteracy in women. Poor families are unable to send their children to schools and this result in women falling into the viscous cycle of poverty. (3) Household work: – Girls are expected to do household work and also have the extra burden of helping their mothers. This leads to lack of quality education for women. Due to this even though they attend school, they can’t concentrate well on studies. (4) Early marriages: – Girls in developing countries are forced to have an early marriage, which creates a bad impact on their whole live. Though many countries made strict laws about the minimum age for marriage, the child marriages are still seen in many countries and having a strong negative impact on women education. (5) Challenges in life: – Women have to pay three roles i.e. daughter, wife and mother and in all the three cases she is dependent on others like father, husband, children etc. The independence in women’s life is less when compared with men and this reflects in their decisions. Realizing the importance of women education, the government and many non-government organizations took a lot of projects to spread women education. Literacy programs are being taken in favour of women.
The importance of women education-(1) Economic development and prosperity: Education will empower women to come forward and contribute towards the development and prosperity of the country. (2) Economic empowerment: So long as women remain backward and economically dependent on men, the helpless condition of them cannot be changed. Economic empowerment and independence will only come through proper education and employment of women. (3) Improved life: Education helps a woman to live a good life. Her identity as an individual would never get lost. She can read and learn about her rights. Her rights would not get trodden down. The life or condition of women would improve a lot, if we take a broad outlook in the field of female education. (4) Improved health: Educated girls and women are aware of the importance of health and hygiene. Through health education, they are empowered to lead a healthy life-style. Educated mothers can take better care of both herself and her baby. (5) Dignity and honour: Educated women are now looked upon with dignity and honour. They become a source of inspiration for millions of young girls who make them their role-models. (6) Justice: Educated women are more informed of their rights for justice. It would eventually lead to decline in instances of violence and injustice against women such as dowry, forced-prostitution, child-marriage, female foeticide, etc. (7) Choice to choose a profession of her choice: Educated women can prove be highly successful in the fields of life. A girl-child should get equal opportunity for education, so that, she can plan to become a successful doctors, engineers, nurses, air-hostesses, cook, or choose a profession of her choice. (8) Alleviate poverty: Women education is a pre-requisite to alleviate poverty. Women need to take equal burden of the massive task of eliminating poverty. This would demand massive contribution from educated women. There cannot be many social and economic changes unless girls and women are given their rights for education.
Now, the society is witnessing changes in the role-status of women. There is greater emphasis on education of girls and women in the same way as we educate boys and men. The modern-day parents want to fulfill the aspiration of their children without gender parity. The educated women should insist on exercising their civil, social, political and economic rights. This will help improve the overall condition of women in the society. We can hope for better days while all women of our country will be enlightened and educated. In modern world, the position of women is getting better in several countries but it still needs more improvement. In Bangladesh, Governments and NGO’s and other world organizations are specially emphasizing the need of women education and doing several activities to support women education. Their efforts are not only limited to women education but also trying to reduce the gender inequality. Women education helps in creating better families and educated women can help in education of her children. Famous Napoleon`s statement “If the women of my country are not educated, about half of the people will be ignored“ Is valid for any country and it can be applied to even today`s society. An educated woman not only creates a positive impact on her family but also contributes to the development of country (indirectly) immensely.
(Gazi Md. Abdur Rashid, Research Officer, District Education Office (Secondary), Munshiganj)
Women education refers to every form of education that aims at improving the knowledge, and skill of women and girls. It includes general education at schools and colleges, vocational and technical education, professional education, health education, etc. Women education encompasses both literary and non-literary education. Educated women are capable of bringing socio-economic changes. The Constitution of almost all democratic countries, including Bangladesh, guarantees equal rights to both men and women. Primary education is now a fundamental right. When a woman (or a girl) is ensured of her rights, the society at large is ensured of its sustainability. In many countries, the literacy rate is low in case of women and in the developing countries the rate is very low and in poor countries the literacy rate of women is worse. In developing countries, women are considered as second grade citizens. In case of women, even before coming out of the womb of the mother the discrimination starts and it continues till their death
There are several reasons for low literacy rate in case of women and they can be summarized as follows :-(1) Cultural barriers: – In several cultures, boy is treated as the person who looks after their parents and this is the main reason for negligence in girls. There are some religious barriers for not ensuring women education. (2) Poverty: – Poverty is another main cause of illiteracy in women. Poor families are unable to send their children to schools and this result in women falling into the viscous cycle of poverty. (3) Household work: – Girls are expected to do household work and also have the extra burden of helping their mothers. This leads to lack of quality education for women. Due to this even though they attend school, they can’t concentrate well on studies. (4) Early marriages: – Girls in developing countries are forced to have an early marriage, which creates a bad impact on their whole live. Though many countries made strict laws about the minimum age for marriage, the child marriages are still seen in many countries and having a strong negative impact on women education. (5) Challenges in life: – Women have to pay three roles i.e. daughter, wife and mother and in all the three cases she is dependent on others like father, husband, children etc. The independence in women’s life is less when compared with men and this reflects in their decisions. Realizing the importance of women education, the government and many non-government organizations took a lot of projects to spread women education. Literacy programs are being taken in favour of women.
The importance of women education-(1) Economic development and prosperity: Education will empower women to come forward and contribute towards the development and prosperity of the country. (2) Economic empowerment: So long as women remain backward and economically dependent on men, the helpless condition of them cannot be changed. Economic empowerment and independence will only come through proper education and employment of women. (3) Improved life: Education helps a woman to live a good life. Her identity as an individual would never get lost. She can read and learn about her rights. Her rights would not get trodden down. The life or condition of women would improve a lot, if we take a broad outlook in the field of female education. (4) Improved health: Educated girls and women are aware of the importance of health and hygiene. Through health education, they are empowered to lead a healthy life-style. Educated mothers can take better care of both herself and her baby. (5) Dignity and honour: Educated women are now looked upon with dignity and honour. They become a source of inspiration for millions of young girls who make them their role-models. (6) Justice: Educated women are more informed of their rights for justice. It would eventually lead to decline in instances of violence and injustice against women such as dowry, forced-prostitution, child-marriage, female foeticide, etc. (7) Choice to choose a profession of her choice: Educated women can prove be highly successful in the fields of life. A girl-child should get equal opportunity for education, so that, she can plan to become a successful doctors, engineers, nurses, air-hostesses, cook, or choose a profession of her choice. (8) Alleviate poverty: Women education is a pre-requisite to alleviate poverty. Women need to take equal burden of the massive task of eliminating poverty. This would demand massive contribution from educated women. There cannot be many social and economic changes unless girls and women are given their rights for education.
Now, the society is witnessing changes in the role-status of women. There is greater emphasis on education of girls and women in the same way as we educate boys and men. The modern-day parents want to fulfill the aspiration of their children without gender parity. The educated women should insist on exercising their civil, social, political and economic rights. This will help improve the overall condition of women in the society. We can hope for better days while all women of our country will be enlightened and educated. In modern world, the position of women is getting better in several countries but it still needs more improvement. In Bangladesh, Governments and NGO’s and other world organizations are specially emphasizing the need of women education and doing several activities to support women education. Their efforts are not only limited to women education but also trying to reduce the gender inequality. Women education helps in creating better families and educated women can help in education of her children. Famous Napoleon`s statement “If the women of my country are not educated, about half of the people will be ignored“ Is valid for any country and it can be applied to even today`s society. An educated woman not only creates a positive impact on her family but also contributes to the development of country (indirectly) immensely.
(Gazi Md. Abdur Rashid, Research Officer, District Education Office (Secondary), Munshiganj)
