“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.”
Education is a right
Education is the basic human right of every individual, irrespective of their caste, creed, gender, age, or religion. Education is the most fundamental step of a progressive society. No nation or society can prosper without providing basic education to its people.
Education is a weapon that can fight all evils. Education begins from a mother’s lap and does not end till a person breathes his last breath. Education grooms a person. One can easily differentiate between an educated and an uneducated person.
Why is Education Important?
Education does not only increase a person’s individual, in addition, it also helps them develop skills; teach them morals and other ethical values.
An educated person is more likely to have a better livelihood than that of an uneducated person. Education helps improve the lives of people.
Education teaches a person how to value time. An educated person knows that time is money. Furthermore, it also helps a person lead a purposeful life.
However, not everyone is given their right to get education. In many countries of this world, unequal opportunities are given in almost every sector based on gender. Be it a basic right to education or employment opportunities. No country in the world has achieved complete gender equality. Women and girls face numerous issues all over the world because of gender discrimination. Holding women back from expressing themselves and voicing their opinions cannot do any good. It only limits the country from prospering.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations focuses on pressing issues from all over the world. Goal 4 and 5 focus on education and gender equality simultaneously. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 of the United Nations states “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Whereas, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5 of the United Nations states “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”
These goals are evidence that education and gender inequality are major issues of most countries.
“We need the talent and insights of girls today to lead our businesses tomorrow. That’s why expanding educational opportunities for girls isn’t charity. It’s a smart investment in a stronger global economy and in our future.”
IndraNooyi, the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.
Importance of Gender Equality in Education
It is very important to eradicate gender inequality from the education sector as well as others. Providing equal opportunities for education to women and girls is extremely important. Almost 50% of the world population is women and girls. If we deprive them of education, we leave almost half of the people of the world uneducated.
Even if girls do get an education, we hear some sentences or phrases that clearly show how girls and boys are discriminated against. If you are a girl or a woman, you must have heard the following lines at least once in your life, “You did that so well for a girl.”, “Girls don’t do these sports”, “girls are not good in mathematics.” These are just some of the phrases that are said to numerous girls all around the world.
Despite their interests, some girls are not given the option to choose their favorite subjects. For instance, a girl might not be allowed to study calculus because “it’s not for girls.” Some people might think that these things don’t happen anymore but it isn’t true. These discriminatory words are said to girls even in the 21st century.
In some areas, girls are not allowed to pursue higher education and are married to someone. If parents are unable to afford the educational expenses of their children, they usually prefer to educate their boy instead of the girl.
In the following graph of UNESCO, we can clearly see the gap between the education provided to men and women. Although it can be seen that the situation has been improved, we still have a long way to go. Men and women should be provided equal opportunities to get education and the bars should have been equal for both genders. We all need to play our part in improving the situation.
It is of utmost importance that we eradicate or at least try to eradicate gender discrimination. We should provide equal opportunities to girls and boys irrespective of their genders. It will not only increase the literacy rate but will be helpful in many other aspects too. It is said that if you educate a girl, you educate a generation.
When a girl becomes a mother, she consciously or unconsciously teaches a lot of things to her child. If the mother is literate, that will help her in raising a good human being. On the contrary, if she was denied the basic right to education, how can we expect her to do a good upbringing for her child?
If we take measures to promote gender equality in schools, it will help in eradicating numerous issues of our society. As the children in school are the future of society, they will act in society as they are taught in school. Having good practices in school will help children learn gender equality and will be sensitive to each other. In return, this will help build a society that will practice less discrimination than the ones before it.
Conclusion
Uneducated and illiterate youth does no good to a nation or society. It is one of the worst things for mankind. As discussed before, education is the basic right of every single human. It is a ray of light in the darkness. We are no one to deny someone their right. If each one of us makes sure that no one around us is denied their basic right to education, our society and our generation can have a better life than before.
“Education… is the key to unlocking other human rights.” – Katarina Tomasevski, Croatia, UN Special Rapporteur
Author Bio
Chloe Daniels breathes ocean air and weaves words in her journal. She is a strong advocate for education and is a valuable blogger at My Tutor Source. Chloe also loves to read and spend time with the members at her book club.
