Young girls sit in a classroom in Mumbai, India (Cooke, 2019).
With a growth in education rates for young girls in rural India, birth rates will drop and girls have a higher chance and opportunity to find jobs and provide for themselves and family.
The poor education system in India is an urgent issue because it is a direct correlation between the overpopulation problem, that goes hand in hand with the high birth rates. The high birth rates are a consequence of lack of understanding how to avoid high reproductive rates with forms of birth control.
If this issue persists then the growth rate will continue to rise, leaving most if not all resources depleted
Young girls need an education in order to learn about ways to access contraceptives and a way to get a well-providing job so that they do not have to rely on a patriarch
Through providing girls with a proper education, especially in the rural areas of India, they become capable of fending for themselves and are less likely to be married off to a suitor at a young age.
While child marriages are prevented, they are still prevalent in these areas and contribute to high birth rates.
To help prevent child marriages there are laws in act such as the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, however more needs to be done to punish adults caught in the position of marrying off their children
High birth rates also come with high infant mortality which further contributes to high birth rates, as mothers attempt to compensate for the loss of a child with more children- who are also helping hands in these rural parts.
The future of young girls in India relies on bettering the current education system, and allowing it to be far more accessible than it is as of right now. Not only do governmental actions need to be taken, but projects to build schools close to these rural regions need to go into action so that young children have an easier means of getting to school. Implementation of old cultural practices that are in place such as the Caste system, hold future generations back from changing the issues found currently.
Abolishing old ideas that are found in the Caste system will alleviate the idea that gender and social status play into whether someone is sent to get an education
Educating young women and girls about reproductive health and contraceptives at young ages is an important factor in the education of these girls
Some young women and girls will not escape child marriage unfortunately, it is best that they still know about their own reproductive health and wellness, and ways in which they can avoid pregnancy
The education crisis in India is in dire need of management. If the issue is maintained in the same manner as it is presently, India will continue to face overpopulation with high infant mortality. With solving the education dilemma, India will be able to move toward more stable population growth and more prominent gender equity.
The Indian Parliament has made feeble attempts at repairing the predicament India faces, however none are enough to sustain the severity of the issue
There is a lack of punishment when children in rural parts of India are found to not be enrolled in school, motivating parents to keep their kids out of school
With such a lack of urgency for a dire situation, the conundrum will only continue to blossom and become less manageable with time. It is important that Indian Parliament looks into what they can do to provide the help their people need.
References
Raghunath, R. (n.d.). Educating Young Girls in India. FFLV. Accessed June 5, 2023, from https://fflv.org/causes/a-school-with-a-difference/?gclid=CjwKCAjwvJyjBhApEiwAWz2nLbPGdiEoTJ-B7LQo8oqAEXTIXrBoEGGdGXQTfOaxNe3XbgHNcdBerRoCSb0QAvD_BwE.
Rosen, R., & Twamley, K. (Eds.). (2018). Feminism and the Politics of Childhood: Friends or Foes? UCL Press. Accessed May 25, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt21c4t9k
School Has Been a Right for Girls in India Since 2009. So Why Aren’t They Going? (2019, June 27). Time. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from https://time.com/5614642/india-girls-educati on/
Wulff, A. (Ed.). (2020). Grading Goal Four: Tensions, Threats, and Opportunities in the Sustainable Development Goal on Quality Education. Brill. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctv2gjwnt3
Xu, B. (2013). Governance in India: Women’s Rights. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/governance-india-womens-rights.