Female Education

Education is said to be an index of civilization. Education is a kind of tool or equipment with which we can perform many tasks of our life. It is also a kind of light which can lead us through the path of darkness; into the world of knowledge and information. Education prepares us to confront the challenges and complexities of our life more boldly and confidently. When we talk about any society, we are talking about two sections of people-male and female. Any human society can better function only when there is a good co-operation and understanding between these two sexes. When we look at the situation of female education, we can find women to have been mostly neglected and ignored particularly in the traditional oriental countries.  Women are thought to be less important in the course of development and they are usually supposed to be confined within the barriers of their houses. In such societies, women are said to be the people who have to go to others’ houses and they do not need much education for their primary task is to bear and rear children. They are thought to be weaker both physically and mentally. Discriminations are largely made between sons and daughters. So, we find a very dark picture of female education in the underdeveloped countries.

            Female education is also affected by the feeling of male chauvinism and because there is an age-long domination made by males over the females, female education or its importance has not been yet fully realised. If we look back the ancient Hindu Civilization, women were much respected and we can find many examples of women acquiring a high degree of knowledge and education. However, with the changing structure of the society which became more patriarchal, women began to lose their power in different fields of life. This had an adverse effect also in the female education. Education was not thought to be necessary for women or even if it was necessary, they were not given any opportunity for acquiring knowledge and education.

            In the present time, however, people are gradually becoming more serious about female education and they have come to realize that any society can achieve development only with the collective effort of both men and women. Different feminist movements are being launched and voices are being raised for the empowerment of women. They are being given equal opportunities in various fields of life. In this was the picture of female education is changing and gradually improving. To be practical, both men and women are something like the two sides of a coin and society can properly function only with the correct balance and understanding between these two sexes. We can find many examples in the history of human race where women have proved their excellence in the fields they were involved. A good many number of women-living or dead-have established their name and in some cases they have proved themselves to be even better than their male counter parts. Mother Teresa, Margaret Thatcher, Madam Curie, Florence Nightingale, Helen Keller, Saint Joan, and many others-were all women who are still remembered and celebrated for the contribution they made to the whole of humanity.

            Women are in fact the source of both creation and power who possess endless courage and fathomless love and they also have an exceptional degree of patience and tolerance. They are our mothers, sisters and wives who always guide and inspire their male fellow beings. So, we should not make any discrimination between males and females under any name and pretext. We should create such grounds where male and female can stand erect with equal dignity and faith.