Girl Education

Girls need real opportunities to lead, not just slogans: Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday called for ensuring that girls have equal opportunities to lead and are included in decision-making processes, asserting that mere slogans cannot usher in real change. In a post on X on International Day of the Girl Child, Kharge said gender equality and justice are essential for achieving social, political, and economic progress. "This year's theme for #DayOfTheGirl is 'Girls' vision for the future' which conveys both the need for urgent action and persistent hope, driven by the power of girls' voices and vision for the future," he said. "We must ensure that girls have equal opportunities to lead by placing them at the forefront of change, amplifying their voices, responding to their needs, and including them in decision-making processes," the Congress president said. Mere slogans cannot usher in real change, he asserted. Kharge said it is vital to listen to girls, to invest in proven solutions that will accelerate progress towards

Jharkhand SPKSY initiative to boost girls' education, combat early marriage

Adolescent girls, particularly those from weaker sections of society, are receiving support from Jharkhand government's financial assistance scheme to pursue their educational dreams, an official said. According to him, Savitribai Phule Kishori Samriddhi Yojana (SPKSY), launched by the Hemant Soren-led government, has been instrumental in discouraging early child marriage, reducing school dropouts, and encouraging girls to seek higher education. Laxman Hajam, a parent, said the scheme has ensured that financial constraints would no longer hinder his daughter's dream of becoming a doctor. "Now, she can continue her education," said Hajam, whose daughter is in class 10. The SPKSY provides scholarships totaling Rs 40,000, distributed in six installments, to facilitate the education of adolescent girls and promote women's empowerment and gender justice. Girls studying in classes 8 to 12 receive Rs 20,000 in five installments, with a one-time scholarship of Rs 20,000 available when ...

Encourage women for higher education to make India developed by 2047: Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said women need to be encouraged to pursue higher education and become independent to achieve the goal of making India the most developed nation by 2047. She also sought everyone's cooperation to help people from backward communities join the march of development. "I would like to call upon all educational institutions and teachers to encourage daughters to pursue higher education and become self-reliant as we want to make India the most developed and most advanced country by 2047," Murmu said at the convocation ceremony of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Vishwa Vidyalaya (DAVV) in its diamond jubilee year. "...Therefore, all of us need to support and encourage women to move ahead as they constitute half of the country's population. If our daughters dream big and bring it to reality with your support and guidance, only then will they be able to become partners in the development of the country in the true sense," she said. The president noted that among .

Govt to soon launch scheme to train young girls for non-traditional jobs

The government will soon launch a scheme to train 14-18 years old girls in non-traditional job roles, a move aimed at increasing women's participation in the labour force, a top official said on Wednesday. The pilot of the scheme will be launched in the next 2-3 weeks, Secretary in Ministry of Women and Child Development Anil Malik said. The scheme, which is being launched in 27 districts in the pilot phase, will eventually be expanded to cover 218 districts across the country, he said. A non-traditional career is generally defined as a certain role that has less than 25 per cent of a specific gender, either men or women. As part of the 'Introduction of Special Project for Empowering Adolescent Girls & Women', 14-18 years old girls would be provided training near their schools and homes while they continue their education. The secretary shared that the pilot will be launched in 2-3 weeks under which training in non-traditional job roles will be provided along with digital ...

Taliban has deprived 1.4 mn Afghan girls of schooling through bans: Unesco

The Taliban have deliberately deprived 1.4 million Afghan girls of schooling through bans, a UN agency said Thursday. Afghanistan is the only country in the world with bans on female secondary and higher education. The Taliban, who took power in 2021, barred education for girls above sixth grade because they said it didn't comply with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. They didn't stop it for boys and show no sign of taking the steps needed to reopen classrooms and campuses for girls and women. UNESCO said at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education since the takeover, an increase of 3,00,000 since its previous count in April 2023, with more girls reaching the age limit of 12 every year. If we add the girls who were already out of school before the bans were introduced, there are now almost 2.5 million girls in the country deprived of their right to education, representing 80 per cent of Afghan school-age girls, UNESCO said.

SC stays Mumbai college circular banning hijab, burqa, cap, naqab on campus

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Mumbai college's decision banning 'hijab, burqa, cap and naqab' on the campus and said girl students must have the freedom to choose what they wear. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar came down heavily on the Chembur Trombay Education Society, which runs the 'N G Acharya and D K Marathe College' for issuing such a circular and asked whether it would ban 'bindi' and 'tilak' also. During the hearing, Justice Kumar asked senior advocate Madhavi Divan, appearing for the society, how was the college empowering the girl students by issuing such a circular. "How are you empowering the women by telling them what to wear? I think it's less said the better. Where is the freedom of choice for the women? Where is freedom of choice of what to wear to the girl students? Educational institutions should not force their decisions on the girl students on what to wear," said Justice Kumar. Divan contended that the college is a co-educational ...

Malala Day 2024: History, significance, quotes and why we celebrate it

Malala Day 2024: Malala Yousafzai was born in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 12, 2024. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for advocating female education

Education Budget 2024: What did FM Sitharaman say in the past five Budgets?

Education Budget 2024: The BJP-led NDA government has steadily increased its allocation towards the education sector, focusing on skilling and digitisation. Here are highlights of the last 5 years

Amnesty Int'l urges Taliban to reopen secondary schools for Afghan girls

A month after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the group reopened schools that were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Assam govt to take full responsibility for educating girl students: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday promised that the BJP government in the state will shoulder the responsibility of educating girl students up to the postgraduate level, and families with a ration card will receive life insurance paid for by the government. Currently, all girls who pass the class 10 examinations are given a cycle or a scooter, but from this year, an amount of Rs 10,000 will be deposited for two years in their bank accounts while they are studying for the class 12 board examinations, the CM said. He was speaking at public rallies before the filing of nominations by BJP candidates for Nagaon and Darrang-Udalguri constituencies going to polls in the second phase on April 26. After the girls pass class 12, they will be given Rs 12,500 for taking admission in college, while those going for postgraduate studies will be given Rs 25,000, he added. 'Betak ma baap porhabo, betik Mama porhabo (Parents will educate their sons but Mama, as he is called by ...

Finding their niche, how women in science are reengineering the workplace

Corporate India, too, is setting recruitment goals, offering mentorship, scholarships

National Girl Child Day 2024: History, theme, importance and quotes

National Girl Child Day not only advocates for equal rights and freedom in schooling, medical care and nutrition but advances awareness about the privileges of a girl, helping address their issues

Afghan schoolgirls finishing sixth grade in tears under Taliban rule

Bahara Rustam, 13, took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul on December 11 knowing it was the end of her education. Under Taliban rule, she is unlikely to step foot in a classroom again. In September 2021, a month after US and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan following two decades of war, the Taliban announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade. They extended this education ban to universities in December 2022. The Taliban have defied global condemnation and warnings that the restrictions will make it almost impossible for them to gain recognition as the country's legitimate rulers. Last week, UN special envoy Roza Otunbayeva expressed concern that a generation of Afghan girls is falling behind with each day that passes. Last week, an official in the Education Ministry said Afghan girls of all ages are allowed to study in religious schools known as madrassas, which have traditionally been boys-only. But Otunbayeva said it was unclear if there was

Afghan envoy to UN emphasises importance of women's education, work

In the statement of the UDHR conference, the international community was asked to take necessary measures in the area of human rights violations, especially women's rights in Afghanistan

Gender parity in Delhi's higher education declined in in 2020-21: Data

The gender parity index in higher education in the national capital declined to 1.04 in 2020-21 from 1.16 in 2018-19, according to data published by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Gender parity index (GPI) is defined as the ratio of number of females to males enrolled in a given stage of education. The index ideally should be between 0.97 and 1.03, as per the report 'Women and Men in Delhi 2023'. However, the number of female students per 100 male students in important educational programmes in Delhi has shown a rise. Comparing the data recorded across various higher education courses in 2012-13 and 2020-21, it was observed that the GPI increased from 0.84 to 0.9 in PhD, 0.73 to 1.02 in postgraduate, 1.03 to 1.11 in undergraduate, 0.51 to 0.73 in PG Diploma and 0.53 to 0.84 in Diploma programme in regular mode of education. Of the total students in Delhi, around 90.1 per cent opted for general course as compared to technical or professional courses which include 92 p

Nitish's comment on women's education to control population triggers row

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's comment on the importance of women's education to control the population raised a storm on Tuesday with the opposition BJP tearing into him. Emphasising the importance of education among women to control the population, Kumar put forward a vivid description in the assembly of how an educated woman can restrain her husband during sexual intercourse. "The husband's acts led to more births. However, with education, a woman knows how to restrain him... this is the reason the numbers (of births) are coming down," he said in a rustic style. "You, journalists also understand it well. Earlier it (fertility rate) was 4.3, but it has now reached 2.9. And, soon we will reach 2," he added. The opposition BJP charged Kumar with "bringing shame" to the state's women by speaking of the procreation process in detail. BJP MLAs Gayatri Devi and Sweety Hembram told reporters that "age has caught up with the chief minister who seems to have lost all sense of ...

International Girl Child Day 2023: History, theme, importance, quotes

International Girl Child Day aims to address the challenges girls face in the society, and to promote their empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights

Will increase Ladli Bahna Yojana aid to Rs 3,000 per month: MP CM Chouhan

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also said that Science faculty classes will soon be started in Gunaur's college and the Girls' High School of Gunaur will be made into a Higher Secondary School

Taliban believe their rule open-ended, ban on female education to continue

The Taliban view their rule of Afghanistan as open-ended, drawing legitimacy from Islamic law and facing no significant threat, their chief spokesman said in an interview marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country. He also indicated a ban on female education will remain in place. Zabihullah Mujahid brushed aside any questions from The Associated Press about restrictions on girls and women, saying the status quo will remain. The ban on girls attending school beyond sixth grade was the first of what became a flurry of restrictions that now keep Afghan women from classrooms, most jobs and much of public life. The Taliban seized power on August 15, 2021, as US and NATO forces withdrew from the country after two decades of war. To mark the anniversary, Tuesday was declared a public holiday. Women, largely barred from public life, didn't take part in the festivities. In the southern city of Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, military personnel

350,000 Rajasthani girl students await promised bicycles under govt scheme

Rajasthan government's free bicycle scheme provides girl students in class IX free bicycles to enable them to attend schools located in remote areas