EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION: THE WAY FORWARD

Sustainable development goals are a set of goals formulated by UN, so as to ensure a sustainable future for the generations to come. It comprises of 17 interconnected goals that must be addressed to achieve the goal of sustainability. One of the goals is to achieve gender equality across the globe. The first step to achieve equality is education. Girls’ education has a specific significance for any society. Educated girls are better in terms of health and general awareness. As today’s girls are the mothers of tomorrow, their increased awareness about life can help in bringing up a healthier and better generation. Educated mothers will be able to direct their children the right way thereby reducing crime rates and violence in the society. Education is the only force that can empower women both in the family as well as in the society. Ban Ki Moon, the former secretary general of UN opined that education of a girl is the best investment that a country can make. This paper specifically examines the challenges of girl’s education in India. In India, access to education is a big problem for women especially from rural India. There is a huge difference in the male literacy rates and female literacy rates in many states especially the BIMARU states. The paper tries to analyse the various obstacles that come across education of girls and the ways to overcome those obstacles.