Role of Education in Women Empowerment with Special Reference to the Economy of Assam Essay Example

Role of Education in Women Empowerment with Special Reference to the Economy of Assam Essay Example Role of Education in Women Empowerment with Special Reference to the Economy of Assam Essay Role of Education in Women Empowerment with Special Reference to the Economy of Assam Essay Women’s contribution to the economy of Assam cannot be ignored. From household activities to economic activities out of the household have been performed successfully by the women of Assam. Women constitute almost half of the population in the state; though a large womenfolk of state are still illiterate, the weak, backward and exploited.Thus, the term Women empowerment comes into existance. If we plan for a economically developed country, we must think for the better status of women. This is possible only through the attainment of the higher level of literacy as well as education for women. It has been already proved that educated women can play a very important role in the economic development of the country. Women education promote women empowerment, which in turn leads to the economic empowerment of women themselves as well as the society as a whole with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence.Now, It is high time to devote more attention on the women education in our st ate to realise the women’s contributions at large to the economy of the state . KEYWORDS: Women Education, Women Empowerment, Economic Development. Introduction – ‘Economy of Assam can be described as underdevelopment one. ’ This is because of its intact poverty, underutilised manpower untapped natural resources. 1 The researchers and authors have never given importance of the contribution of women in the economy of Assam.Whereas, women’s contribution to the economy of Assam cannot be ignored. From household activities to economic activities out of the household have been performed successfully by the women of Assam. Despite they are almost fifty in hundred and bearing all the positive aspects, it is a matter of fact that women in this world are living with an insignificant status, both in the family and society. Out of all poverty-stricken people living in this world, 70 percent are women.For those women, poverty does not just mean scarcity and wan t; it means rights denied, opportunities curtailed and voices silenced. If we consider the some facts, we find women work two-thirds of the world’s working, whereas women (i) earn only 10 percent of the world’s income, (ii) own less than 1 percent of the world’s property, (iii) make up two-thirds of the total adults worldwide who cannot read or write. 2 All these hold good in case of Assam economy also. This is the background, the world community thought over the entity of empowerment of women, its need and significance.Empowerment recognizes the inner power of individuals; our understanding of women empowerment reminds us that change- improvement in the physical, economic, political or social well-being of women. Question arises what is the mosly cited factor responsible for bringing about the women empowerment. It is education, which is one of the most important means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate f ully in the development process. Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant for girls and women.This is true not only because education is an entry point to other opportunities, but also because the educational achievements of women can have ripple effects within the family and across generations. It is not possible for an economy to be developed, without giving due importance on women (which constitute the half of total) and their activities. The empowered women only are shared with that status. In the similar way, this is possible only with women education, both with quality as well as quantity. Objectives – 1.To see the status and trend of women empowerment in the study area in terms of various indicators. 2. To see the contribution of women in the economy of Assam and to see how empowerment of women is helpful for the development of an economy. 3. To see the role of women education in the realisation of women empowerment and thereby growth of th e economy. 4. To overcome the constraints faced by the women in the study area and to forward some meaningful inferences and suggestions on the findings of the study. Key Questions – Assam economy has a great contribution of women folk.The amount of contribution can be enhanced considerably by getting the empowered women; which is finally realised only by creating environment for qualitative as well as quantitative women education. Data source and Methodology- The Study Area- Assam, a constituent State of India, is located in North Eastern part of the country and situated within the longitude 90o E to 96o E and latitude 24o N to 28o N. The area of the state is 78,438 sq. kms. The economy of Assam is mainly agrarian in nature. The population of the state is Total 31. 7 million according to 2011 census of which 1,52,14,345 are female. As regards sex ratio, it is 954 females per 1000 males as per report of 2011 census. Basic data on the position of women in the state vis-a-vis m en reveals that there is a glaring inequality between them. Methodology – The study is basically analytical and descriptive. Moreover, it is prepared mostly with secondary data, also depending on observation. The techniques of synthesis have been applied to analyze the data and as such, the findings and suggestions have been sorted out. Results and Discussion-Women in Economy There is an important co-relation between women and economy in the context of Assam economy. The activities for women in soil conservation, social forestry, dairy development and other occupations allied to agriculture like horticulture, livestock including small animal husbandry, poultry, fisheries etc are being expanded to benefit women workers in the agriculture sector. Economic Development may be rgarded as a woman’s path to self-mastery. Women get the opportunity to gain social, political and economic skills, which opens a greater field of action.Women who received credit and who sustained s ocial, political and business-development training for more than three years displayed greater independence, increased household decision-making, more control of resources, and more equality within the home. Education The female literacy level among the women in Assam have been growing up in the podt- independence era. Table: 1 Female Literacy at a glance in Assam Particulars Unit 2001 Census 2011 Census (P) LiteracyTotalPer cent 63. 2573. 18 a) MalePer cent 71. 8 78. 81 b) Female Per cent 54. 61 67. 27 Source: Gov of Assam, Economic Survey, Assam, 2010-11 The table shows that the female literacy inceased to 67. 27 per cent in the 2011 census, which was 54. 61 per cent in 2001 census. For a state, 12. 66 percent increment in a decade is not said to be a less amount. But there is a lot of works to be done by the policymakers of the state. Although during 1991-2001, annual average growth rate of female literacy (1. 3 per cent) was more than that of male literacy rate (0. 997 per cen t). Women Empowerment -Empowerment recognizes the inner power of individuals; women empowerment reminds us that change- improvement in the physical, economic, political or social well-being of women. When poor or weak women become actors for change, able to analyze their own lives, make awareness, skills, knowledge, confidence and experience and structures their own decisions and take their own actions. Many scholars have provided suitable definitions of women empowerment. â€Å"Empowerment is the process by which the powerless gain greater control over the circumstances of their lives.It includes both controls over resources and over ideology †¦. a growing intrinsic capability- greater self confidence, and an inner transformation of one’s consciousness that enables one to overcome external barriers †¦. 3 Women Education leads Women Empowerment We have already discussed that education acts as the best tool to be helpful in women in difficult circumstances. Adding value of education to their lives, the disadvantaged groups, women in extreme poverty, destitute women, omen in conflict situations, women affected by natural calamities, women in less developed regions, the disabled widows, elderly women, single women in difficult circumstances, women heading households, those displaced from employment, migrants, women who are victims of marital violence, deserted women and prostitutes etc can have their solution to be free extensively from the constrains faced by them. It is known to all that female education has a long-term effects. Educated women have fewer, healthier children, and they have them when they are older.The result is children who are more successful in school, largely because they benefit from their mothers’ education. Educating girls and integrating them into the labor force is one way to break an intergenerational cycle of poverty. In contrast to all odds, education is the most important means of empowering women with the k nowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process. Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant for girls and women.This is true not only because education is an entry point to other opportunities, but also because the educational achievements of women can have ripple effects within the family and across generations. Investing in girls education is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty. Investments in higher education for girls yields especially high dividends. Girls who have been educated are likely to marry later and to have smaller and healthier families. Educated women can recognize the importance of health care and know how to seek it for themselves and their children.Education helps girls and women to know their rights and to gain confidence to claim them. Education has far-reaching effects. The education of parents is linked to their childrens educational attainment, and the mothers education is usually more influential than the fathers. An educated mothers greater influence in household negotiations may allow her to secure more resources for her children. Educated mothers are more likely to be in the labour force, allowing them to pay some of the costs of schooling, and may be more aware of returns to schooling.And educated mothers, averaging fewer children, can concentrate more attention on each child. Closing the gender gap in education is a development priority. The 1994 Cairo Consensus recognized education, especially for women, as a force for social and economic development. Universal completion of primary education was set as a 20-year goal, as was wider access to secondary and higher education among girls and women. Closing the gender gap in education by 2015 is also one of the benchmarks for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). 4 Present Status -The status of women and their empowerment in terms of various indicators such as access to education, employment, hous ehold decision making power, financial autonomy, freedom of movement, exposure to media, political participation, experience of domestic violence etc can not be daid to be satisfactory in the state of Assam. We have miles to go for having positive indicators, like, decision making, poverty eradication, micro credit, education, health, nutrition, drinking water and sanitation, housing and shelter, environment, science and technology, support services, violence against women, rights of the girl child, mass media.The female work participation rate in Assam which was 4. 66 per cent in 1971 increased to 21. 61 per cent in 1991 and declined to 20. 71 per cent in 20016 The Girls’ Educational Index (GEI) in early 80s was 0. 499 in Assam (G. O. I. , 2002). During 1990s the GEI for India was increased to 0. 575 in Assam. Assam was ranked in 29th position among 32 States and Union Territories according to GEI measure and was ranked below Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland (Assam H uman Development Report, 2003). In Assam women may be visible at public places and institutions, as there is freedom of movement, but her visibility does not give her power, she is very unlikely to be a member in the decision making bodies of these institutions. Data on managerial bodies of schools and colleges, public institutions, religious institutions reveal the invisibility of women in power. Key Findings The female literacy level among the women in Assam have been growing up in the podt- independence era. The female literacy inceased to 67. 27 per cent in the 2011 census, which was 54. 61 per cent in 2001 census.For a state, 12. 66 percent increment in a decade is not said to be a less amount. But there is a lot of works to be done by the policymakers of the state. Occupational structure of women of Assam reflects that a major part of the total women are engaged in agriculture sector and generated a considerable amount of income for their livelihood. In these days, the young generation are showing tendency in service and business sector , which is an indicators of the movement of the society towards development. Women engaged in service are not satisfactory but there is tremendous improvement.Like service sector an identical picture is also seen in case of business sector. A substantial amount of educated young women are attracted towards different types of business activities, small scale and cottage industries based on locally available natural resources, shopkeeper etc. Various types of income sources are adopted by the women in tribal communities of Assam, such as, agriculture, weaving, poultry, piggery business, service, traditional industries and wage labour. Among these activities traditional industries like handicraft, weaving, preparation of traditional wine, piggery and poultry are mentionworthy.Women of Assam enjoy somewhat a disadvantageous position both in absolute sense and relative to men in the area of access to education, employment,exp osure to media, household decision making capacity, workforce participation rate, control over resources etc. Micro-finance – including micro-credits – is often considered as an instrument that promotes empowerment. Whilst it can stabilise livelihoods, broaden choices, provide start-up funds for productive investment, help poor people to smooth consumption flows and send children to school, it can also lead to indebtedness and increased exclusion unless programmes are well-designed.Suggestions – It is stablished fact that education is the key role player for empowerment of women, which is, in turn, responsible for economic development as a whole. So, for creating the goal an empowered women for economic development, the following strategies need to be taken into action by the Govt. in partnership with NGO and Community- 1. Creating community demand for girls education not only elementary level but also all the level of education. 2. The Technical and Vocational education should be made available for girls. 3.Nos of such school need to extent up to all village of the community. 4. The adult education programme in rural area is essential. 5. Efforts should made to solve the drop out problem of girls education in rural area 6. Participation of women in the high income generating activities like fashion designing, tailoring, food processing beautician, need to increase. For which following means should be adopted: a. Training facilities should be there in rural area through which the women of the community will get better chance to be specialized in this field. b.Knowledge and information on Global changing business environment like marketing in formation, the change of test, habit, preference of the consumer should be provided regularly through government and Non-government efforts like NGO, SHGs, Mahila Sangathan. c. Gender and poverty sensation programme should be developed to create an environment where by all will work together to remove all the disparities physical, social and economic. Conclusion – Achieving women’s economic empowerment is not a â€Å"quick fix†. It will take sound public policies, a holistic approach and long-term commitment from all development actors.Providing supplementary services – such as training, working through groups rather than individuals, or alongside other investments in awareness raising – has been shown to increase women’s direct control over resources. 5 In the United Nation’s 2005 report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, writes: â€Å"The full participation of women to all levels of decision-making is a basic human right. † The central argument is that women play a fundamental role in development.Accordingly, in the same report, Kofi Annan argues that gender equality is in fact a â€Å"prerequisite† to achieving the other MDGs. 6 Former World Bank Pr esident, James Wolfensohn, addressing the Fourth UN Conference on Women, said: Education for girls has a catalytic effect on every dimension of development: lower child and maternal mortality rates; increased educational attainment by daughters and sons; higher productivity; and improved environmental management. Together, these can mean faster economic growth and, equally important, wider distribution of the fruits of growth in economy.More education for girls will also enable more and more women to attain leadership positions at all levels of society: from health clinics in the villages to parliaments in the capitals. This, in turn, will change the way societies will deal with problems and raise the quality of global decision-making. 6 References – 1. Dhar, P. K. , ‘The Economy of Assam- Including Economy of North East India’,( 2009), Kalyani Publishers, Guwahati 2. Islam, N. , ‘Economic Empowerment of Women in the District of Goalpara: A Case Study with Special Reference to Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana’, National Seminar Volume, (Ed. ) Kshyap, S. K. Goswami, N. and Dutta, A. , ‘Economic Empowerment of Women in the North East Region: Issues and Challenges’, Barbhag College, Kalag, Nalbari (Assam) September, 2012 (ISBN 978-81-910818-3-7) 3. Mahanta, B. (Supervisor: Prof. P. Nayak),‘Women Empowerment in Assam: A Human development Approach’(M. Phil Synopsis), Department of Economics, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong (2008). 4. Assam Human Development Report, 2003 and Govt. of Assam). 5. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (2011), The state of food and agriculture, 2010-2011: women in agriculture, closing the gender gap for development, FAO, Rome. . Duflo, E. , â€Å"Women Empowerment and Economic Development’’, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Journal of Economic Literature 2012, 50(4), 1051–1079, http://dx. doi. org/10. 1257/jel. 50. 4 . 1051 ++++++ From: Name: NAZRUL ISLAM Designation: Asstt. Professor ; HoD, Economics. Sex: Male Name of the Institution: Dalgoma Anchalik College, Matia, Goalpara -783125. Address for Correspondance: Nayapara, Krishnai, Goalpara -783126. Email ID: nazrul. [emailprotected] com Participation: With Paper Title of the paper: Role of Education in Women Empowerment with special reference to the Economy of Assam. Date: Signature