Educating The Girl Child

Abstract

As per census 2011, Children represent 39 percent of total population in India and 48 percent of them are girls. Approximately, 31percent of total population is in the age category of 0-14 years. Worldwide, women today constitute almost half of the total population. Gender equality is at the very heart of human rights. A fundamental principle of the United Nations Charter adopted by world leaders in 1945 is "equal rights of men and women", and protecting and promoting women's rights are the responsibility of all states. Likewise, it has also been widely established that provision of education for women is a potential driver for improvement of nutrition, health and economic status of any household, and thus, overall the economy of the nation. Therefore, the understanding amongst the development thinkers and the policy analysts across the world has been that in order to tackle the conditions of poverty and deprivation, the investment has to be made in human development and in particular women and girls. Literature also supports that educating girls is important for economic growth and this investment would also lead to a general improvement in the social welfare of women, leading to delayed marriageable age and birth of fewer and healthier children. Thus, it would contribute to an overall reduction in the maternal, infant morbidity and mortality rates (Miller., 2007).