“The seeds of success in every nation on Earth are best planted in women and children.”
Joyce Banda (Former President of Malawi)
Right from our fight for freedom, the women of our nation have shown us time and again what they are capable of achieving if given a chance. Whether it is politics, sports, science, business, or keeping our nation’s medal hopes alive in the Olympics, they have continuously demonstrated how much a proper education(awareness) system and support can help girls and the nation, for that matter. However, despite all this, the fact that girls are powerful enough to achieve anything and everything seems to have been forgotten in major parts of our country. There are several states, districts, villages, towns, and even cities where girls receive little to no education. This has to change and this has to change right now. What can you do to make an impact-
Role of Parents
For a girl to achieve heights, first the parents need to believe in them. They should be ready to fight any obstacle that comes in their way to provide their children with the necessary education and support they deserve. When a girl child is born, instead of focusing on how to teach her household chores, make sure that you plan her education well. Make sure that she receives proper primary education and access to the resources that she deserves. Do not treat her any differently from a boy child as far as enabling education is concerned. Well, many families are not in a financial condition to offer adequate education to their children; in that case, make sure that you seek help from a Government or a Non-Government organisation operating in your area or ask for help from any person you know who might be resourceful. If there is a generous primary school teacher or a high school teacher you might know in your locality, take their help to plan her education. In a nutshell, as parents, try all that you can to ensure that she doesn’t miss out on an educational opportunity that is available to her either directly or indirectly.
Role of Teachers
Next, come the teachers. If you are teaching a girl you feel might drop out of her education, it is your responsibility to make sure that does not happen. Well, you might ask, how is that possible? First, discuss interesting topics with the girl and make sure that she starts loving what is being taught to her. Developing her interest in the study is of utmost importance. Second, discuss with her family and make sure that any problem that might lead them to discourage their child’s education is taken care of. Take help from higher school officials, if needed. Additionally, if you find that the strength of girls in your class keeps decreasing, try to contact people who might help you find out the cause and eliminate it. Often if the teachers are diligent and generous in their duty, they can save and mould the careers of numerous students, whether boys or girls.
Equal Opportunities
As far as opportunities are concerned, as teachers or administrators or as any person in the right power, make sure there is no discrimination between boys and girls, whether it is in education, opportunities or any other field. Report any sort of discrimination that you come across. If you believe that you can help out a girl child with whatever resources you have, whether it is time, money or experience, try to reach out to girls who need your help. Start with one girl, then two and then as many as you can. Encourage other people who might be of help to join you and do the same. Education is something that you do not lose on sharing. Make sure that you teach at least one girl child you have come across who does not have proper access to education.
To the Female Leaders of the Nation
To all the female leaders of the nation, share your experiences, failures, successes, journey with girls without access to proper resources so that they can have someone to look up to and refer to; make sure that you take some time out of your life to make another girl’s life better.
Yes, it is not very easy to bring about this change, but together, we can make it happen!
What are we doing?
SABIA is all set to launch its fundraising campaign to continue supporting students. The learning loss, drop rate in schools, and mental health issues have increased due to COVID and we are helping students to overcome these challenges. The campaign will be active from November 14, 2021.
Pramit Sengupta
Opmerkingen