In India, the route to educating the girl child is replete with compounding obstacles emanating from deep-rooted cultural norms and practices. Despite considerable advancements over the last two decades, the girl child in India still has to grapple with significant deterrent factors that keep her aloof from quality education.
Gender biases, along with authentic conventional beliefs and expectations of society, inhibit the right of a girl to learn, grow, and shine to improve her potential and prospects for a better future. Addressing these barriers is crucial to understanding the importance of girls’ education, besides developing a safe learning environment where girls are assisted to grow.
Cultural Barriers to Girls’ Education in India
India has made advancements regarding providing education to all, but the girl child in India still faces several drawbacks. Many girls are not able to obtain quality education on account of cultural norms and traditions.
● Gender Bias and Traditional Beliefs
Probably one of the biggest cultural obstacles to the education of the girl child in India is the traditional preference for boys. In many parts of the country, the boy child continues to be perceived as the breadwinner, while girls are sometimes meant just for household chores.
This mindset is quite deep-rooted, due to which not much priority is given to girls’ education, and people embark on prioritizing the schooling of boys over girls. In such environments, education for girls is considered unnecessary, particularly once the girls reach puberty, where their roles as wives and mothers are given more importance than their roles as students.
● Child Marriage
The practice of child marriage is still prevalent in most parts of India, which cuts short their education, and girls are sent out to get married. As soon as they get married, household chores become mandatory, which makes getting back to school almost hard. As a result, the dream of being educated and independent people never gets achieved, while the vicious circle of poverty and gender inequality flourishes.
● Societal Pressure and Early Responsibilities
Most of the young girls in rural India are at a very tender age burdened with taking care of their younger siblings or helping in doing some household chores. This stress turns them away from formal education, as large families consider their usefulness in the home more than getting a formal education. The girl child in India is often considered a caregiver first and a student second, thereby hindering her chances of pursuing formal schooling for growth.
Solutions to Overcome Cultural Barriers
While there are cultural barriers that impede girl child education, there is an overwhelming number of solutions that can be applied to dismantle those barriers. Community engagement and practical intervention may be fundamental to ensuring every girl can have access to an education.
● Community-Based Awareness Programs
To truly educate a girl, it is essential to address the mindset of society, which works against the aim of educating girls. This requires awareness through community-based initiatives to help change these social attitudes. The long-term benefits of educating their daughters can be explained to parents to reduce gender biases.
Local leaders, teachers, and women’s groups can make all the difference by actively advocating for girls’ education and convincing people that educating girls would not only uplift the girls but entire communities as well.
● Encouraging Safe Learning Environments
Girls need a safe learning environment to pursue further education. Most parents take their daughters out of school due to safety reasons once girls reach puberty. Schools should ensure safety and security for the girl child through adequate infrastructure, separate sanitation facilities, and transportation facilities for safe commuting. By doing so, we ensure a safe learning environment and thereby more girls can attend school regularly and complete their education.
● Providing Economic Support and Incentives
Economic burden generally discourages a family from sending a girl child for schooling in India. The provision of scholarships, free education materials, and even meals at school would help lessen this burden and encourage family members to pursue education.
Projects like Project Nanhi Kali, which provides support to girls from lower-income levels, have helped them pursue education despite economic burdens. Programs such as these have ensured that close to 700,000 girls finish their education and believe in themselves to chase their dreams.
Conclusion: The Path Forward
What we need is to look at those deep-seated cultural norms that get in the way of education if we want to change the future of the girl child in India. It involves devising community-based solutions, encouraging safe school environments, and supporting initiatives like Project Nanhi Kali to ensure that every girl has an opportunity to receive an education.
Girls’ education is not only a matter of individual success; it is a key to unlocking an equal and prosperous society. Let us join hands to help the lesser-privileged girls write their fate. Join Project Nanhi Kali in helping these girls realize their complete potential and bring a better tomorrow for India!
