The Evolution of Women's Education

Education is a right that everyone should have, no matter what economic strata they are part of. Members of the lower class, especially women and young girls, have been denied this right for centuries and have been left illiterate and unemployed. Now is the time that this practice of discrimination and oppression needs to be completely eradicated; instead, not only women but people of all castes, creeds, and religions should be happily given the right to study and be educated, and let them decide their own future.

We all should be blessed to be educated. Think of this as a privilege, as not everyone gets the opportunity to study in schools as good as those from the higher economic classes. Education in the lower class is extremely low, especially for girls. In the present, this has increased, but in the past, it was much worse. Women have been reduced to slaves who are conditioned to only stay at home and do housework. They do not get to choose their future path, and even if they are employed, most are exploited, underpaid, and do jobs way below their qualifications. When a woman works and takes care of her children at the same time, she is questioned and criticized. In conventional households, the purpose of bringing up a daughter was to get her married as soon as possible and teach her household chores. They would be prohibited from studying and would be forced to stay at home and do household chores. This should not be the case in the 21st century, in such progressed and forward times. With evolving times, people’s thought processes have turned over and become more accepting and encouraging towards women’s education.

As everyone likes to call the present a 'modern world', illiteracy is being eradicated at a slow pace. Compared to the past, there are new laws and movements now. Some of these are ‘beti baacho beti paadhao’ which translates to 'save girls, educate girls.’ One law instilled by the Indian government is compulsory education for all children, no matter what religion, caste, or gender, until the age of 16 years. Women in this age and time are given complete freedom to study, pursue, and achieve whatever they would like to do. Relatively, in the past, there has been awareness, but there needs to be more effort put into the actual implementation of change.

Malala Yousafzai is one of the pioneers in promoting women’s education and the youngest woman to receive a Nobel Prize, which she won in 2014 at the age of 17 years. She was a Pakistani teenage girl who spoke about women’s rights and helped make a huge difference in transforming education for women into what it is today. In 2014, Yousafzai and her father established the Malala Fund to internationally support and advocate for women and girls. Through her charity, she met with Syrian refugees in Jordan, young women students in Kenya, and spoke out in Nigeria against the terrorist group Boko Haram that abducted young girls to stop them from going to school. The Malala Fund advocates for quality education for all girls by funding education projects internationally, partnering with global leaders and local advocates, and pioneering innovative strategies to empower young women. Yousafzai has had a major impact on women’s education, and it has improved greatly because of her efforts provided by the Malala Fund.

There has been a huge difference in women’s education over the past few years, and now women are being treated as equal to men. There is more importance given to education and establishing yourself in the world today as compared to the past. No matter if you’re male or female, being educated in today’s day and age is very important. Seeing the difference from the past, many people are trying to address these issues and solve them. There are several organizations that are formed to do this to encourage, teach, and inspire them to become more ambitious in life, and our organization, Shespires, is one of them. Education of lower-class women is really important so they get to know their rights and freedom as well, and they don’t have to stay trapped in the thoughts of being a homemaker. Instead, they are aware of more paths and can then choose to be homemakers if they like. They need to be exposed to this world of learning and tested for curiosity.

Education is indeed a strength, and everybody needs to be given the golden chance to embody it.

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