WOMEN EDUCATION IN INDIA

Women Education in India The Indian government has ex-pressed a strong commitment to-wards education for all, however, India still has one of the lowest female literacy rates in Asia. In 1991, less than 40 percent of the 330 million women aged 7 and over were literate, which means today there are over 200 million illiterate women in India. This low level of literacy not only has a negative impact on women’s lives but also on their families’ lives and on their country’s economic development. Numerous studies show that illiterate women have high levels of fertility and mortality, poor nutritional status, low earning potential, and little autonomy within the household. A woman’s lack of education also has a negative impact on the health and well being of her children. For instance, a re-cent survey in India found that infant mortality was inversely related to mother’s educational level. Additionally, the lack of an educated population can be an impediment to the country’s economic development. The Indian government’s commitment to education is stated in its constitution with an article promising “free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14”. The National Policy on Education, which was updated in 1992, and the 1992 Program of Action both reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving literacy levels, by providing special attention to girls and children from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Literacy Levels Improving Over Time Although literacy levels are low, there has been progress in improving educational attainment for both sexes in India over the last several decades. In 1971, only 22 percent of women and 46 percent of men were literate. By 1991, 39 percent of women and 64 percent of men were liter-ate. Thus, there has been a large increase in the proportion of women who are liter-ate in just 20 years. Despite the improvements in literacy, there continues to be a large gap between the literacy levels of men and of women. Female Literacy Rates, by State: 1991 Large Differences in Literacy among the States The differences in literacy rates among the states are also extreme. Kerala has the highest female literacy rate, with over 86 percent of women literate in 1991. The state with the second highest female literacy is Mizoram, where nearly 79 percent of women are literate. On the other hand, there are several states that have literacy rates of less than 30 percent, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the two most populous states. Together these two states have over 63 million illiterate women. These literacy levels are highly correlated with the health status of the population. Kerala has the lowest infant mortality rates and the highest life expectancies of all the states. Conversely, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have some of the lowest life expectancies found in India. As with India as a whole, many states have large rural-urban differences in female literacy. In 6 of the 24 states, 25 percent or less of the women in rural areas is literate. In Rajasthan, less than 12 percent of rural women are literate. Women of Vedic age: The female children had equal opportunities of education as the male. It was a matter of pleasure and delight if a girl child took birth in the family. If some one wanted to devote their whole life for studies and remain unmarried, that was acceptable too. ‘Brahmavadini’ meant women, who pursued knowledge all through their life, while remaining mostly unmarried. We can also find women referred to with great admiration in domestic affairs, social organisations, warfare, religious debates etc. Panini refers to women students of different branches of the Vedas. The number of female Rishis of Vedic mantras comes to about thirty. In the Rigveda we find women like Vadhrimati, Vishpala, Mudgalani, Danu etc fighting in wars. Some women too attained the Brahma Jnana - Aham Brahmasmi experience. Vak’s Devisukta, which appears in the tenth mandala of Rigveda is very elevating. In several meaningful mantras it is said that women of this country have given its man-folk valour, spiritual illumination, piety and intellectual brilliance. Gargi, Maithreyi and Sulabha are famous for their spiritual debates. Marriage was not compulsory and widows without children could remarry. The wife’s presence was essential in all rituals. During Yagnas, singing of Vedas-Samaveda- was generally done by women. The woman was greatly honoured in her father-in-law’s house and had an authority over her husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law (Rig X-85:86, Atharva 1.4.1). The father told his son-in-law that his girl will be your ‘Kulapa’- protector of family. Dampati word used for a couple meant joint ownership of the house. The epics: In both our epics the goal of life was centered on Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha and the position of women and their contribution to the society for the establishment of Dharma is very illuminating. Many indirect evidences point towards the education and status of women. In Ramayana, Sita, whom Ravana many times addresses as Pundita knew at least three languages. Kausalya was also conversant with the Vedic rites, as was Tara, the wife of Vali. There is a mention of ‘Vadhu Sanghas’ i.e., women’s associations in the descriptions of Ayodhya. Sabari, who learned the highest knowledge along with men without any difference, later became in-charge of the respected Ashrama for years together. Kaikeyi participated in wars along with King Dasharatha. Tara was an astute politician and handled the wrath of a powerful ally of Sugreeva i.e., Lakshmana skilfully. Anasuya, the wife of Atri Maharshi was a great scholar and very famous for her work in relieving distress during famines, droughts etc. Sita was held as one of the greatest ideals by Swami Vivekananda and a careful study of her life will reveal the reasons for this. In Mahabharatha there is an instance of all the Rishis going to Arundhati, wife of Vashishta to learn the subtleties of Dharma. Gandhari was known for her fearlessness and impartiality. Satyavati, though a fisherwoman could become a queen and was consulted and obeyed by those in power. Kunti had to undergo lot of sufferings and she faced them with an iron will. She upholds her Dharma by following Dhritharashtra and Gandhari to the forest even as her sons earned the kingdom Draupadi’s arguments about Dharma in the Kurusabha is also famous. She is often addressed by the Pandavas as Dharmartha Kushale, Mahaprajne, Pundite etc. In fact the great wars in Ramayana and Mahabharata were fought also to uphold the dignity of women. In the famous ‘Vidhura Neeti’, Vidhura stresses again that women should be specifically looked after because they are worthy of being worshipped, pure, bring fortune and luck to the house, are light of the house, Goddess Lakshmi of the house. The Shift: In the post Mahabharata period till the invasions, because of her well spread trade, wealth flowed in Bharat. The leisure, peace and wealth for centuries together seem to have caused certain shifts in attitudes and recreations of women. Music and dance became very common and popular among women of all ranks. But this also seems to have brought some looseness in morals. Because some Puranas describe women as fickle-minded, frivolous, untruthful, great stress on physical purity and chastity was given which slowly led to the preference of marriage in early age. The great stress on Sanyasa especially by Buddhism led to, at least in some scale, viewing of women as incarnation of evil trying to men. Upanayana ceremony became formal i.e., without Vedic mantras. Slowly marriage ceremony got equated to Upanayana. With loss of Upanayana, Vedic education slowly got denied to women and so the intellectual advancement and status suffered a setback in principle. But in actual practice women continued to share the earlier respect and achievements in social life. Women continued to receive education at home and many were well versed in various fields. There is a galaxy of poetesses in this period. The poetess Vijayanka of the 7th century was ranked as a peer of Kalidas in the Vaidharbhi style of composition. Kshanavati, an astronomer and Lilavati, a mathematician, were very famous. Women excelled in temple architecture, philosophical debates, warfare, trade and industry, administration etc. Though the principle of child marriage got introduced, it did not take roots as a prevalent practice. Women were not to be punished even for adultery. A woman was allowed to remarry if her husband was unheard of for a long period, dead or a recluse or an impotent or an outcaste. Practices like Devadasi, Sati got started, but the facts appear to be different from what it later degenerated into and is understood by us at present. According to Marco Polo, in Devadasi system, unmarried girls on festive occasions went to temples and entertained the deity with their and songs. We see a slight appreciation of the practice of a woman becoming a Sati out of intense love, devotion and attachment to her husband. But it was not at all commonly practised and there are lot of examples of widely respected widows like Prabhavati Devi of Vakataka dynasty, Mayanalla Devi of Gujarat and Karpura Devi of Ajmer. Sonless widows inherited the property of their husbands. Foreign Invasions: India had to face invasions by Arab, Afghan, Pathan, Turk, Mughal and Europeans who were not mere barbarians but also flag bearers of definite ideologies, which they compelled upon us. We tried to protect our cherished values by rigidifying the customs and needs at that time and codifying as religious injunctions, which ultimately got codified as laws. As mentioned in Gandhiji’s autobiography also, these invasions lead to increase in child marriages and a decline in women’s education though home instruction was widespread. The fundamental respect for women in our culture contributed even in this difficult period for allowing women to attain high achievements in administration, religion, literature etc. Many women have left their marks in history like the Rajput woman Panna, Tarabhai Mohite - the administrative genius, poetess Ganga Devi and so on. Divorce and polygamy were common among Muslims leading to insecurity to women’s lives. Widow marriage started disappearing and dowry started becoming compulsory. Sati gained some more respect in Rajasthan and Bengal but still the practice was far from common. Till the beginning of the 19th century even the bad practices like Sati, Kulinism, Purdah were limited to few castes in few areas, but the picture appears to be very bleak suddenly in the 19th century. The emancipation of women and liberation movements started and gave a different direction to the understanding and lives of women. In order to justify their rule in India, the British painted Bharat very black. Though they were full of praise for Indian women in the beginning, in order to loot us they had to destroy the social fabric, system of education, medicine, trade etc. Influenced by the Freudian philosophy, woman was increasingly considered merely as an object of enjoyment. The Macaulay’s downward infiltration method of education aimed at cutting the very roots of our culture did have some effects on the social structure. Through their clever they made Indians increasingly poor both economically and educationally. To put it in Max Muller’s words "The wonder to my mind is how any nation could have survived such an inferno without being turned into devils themselves. Though the British claimed the credit for banning Sati by law, the fact remains that Indian reformers wanted it at least a 50 years before 1828, but the British turned down the demand thinking that religion was a very sensitive issue. Though female infanticide was restricted to very few tribes it was deliberately depicted as a countrywide phenomenon. Many Indian reformers set examples by marrying widows. But whatever the British did in the name of social reforms ultimately seems to have had some other motive. In short the foreign rule in India saw a sudden shift in the way of life of women. Except for a few examples of great women, the period of Independence struggle and the post independence period did not see much of an improvement in the conditions of the common women. In the present day scenario in India, though quite a lot of contributions to the nation building are coming from women, they are being looked down upon as mere commodities and their beauty consciousness has been exploited in various ways. Reserved by Rakhesh.C.K No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of Rakhesh.C.K.