Chronos
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So this is my first article on Seniors Cafe. And I decided to do a mundane, academic article to avoid slugfests for the first time around.
I have noticed that whenever there are elections in India, well even in a lot of the developing world countries, discussion about population growth, and the ways to tackle it are nearly absent. Is it because the society is conservative? Does the customs and ores of the nation prevent them to speak on population growth because they are closely linked to sexual activities I don't know. and I can't give you that answer. But what I can give is one of the most effective ways to improve Human development Indicators that a lot of developing countries, including India missed. Especially female literacy. From now on, I will me referring to India or developing countries in general. Feel free to make comparisons with your own nations.
To start off here is a graph
The graph is a bit dated, but I am sure it is still relevant today. But there are other benefits to female literacy as well
Social Benefits
Using the example of India. A lot of children tends to die, especially so in rural poor areas due to infectious diseases. This of course have been found to have been easily preventable, if the child had washed his/her hands regularly, trim the nails and observed basic hygiene protocols. Literacy itself brings with it 'Health literacy.'
"The Bolivia study revealed that ‘improvements in health-related knowledge and behavior were greater for women who attended literacy and basic education programs’ (p xi). Positive changes included: seeking medical health for themselves and a sick child, adopting preventive health measures, such as immunisation, and greater knowledge of family planning methods" (Robinson-Pant, 2004)
There is a link between fertillity rates and Female education. The Table that illustrates this is below.
Keep in mind that Infant Mortality rates have many causes contributing to it, but female illiteracy seems to be one of them
again, keep in mind that there are many factors to consider other than Female literacy by itself.
Literacy Rates Aren't Enough on Their Own
Female literacy rates are at the end of the day numbers. It does give you a number, an indicator of how well a society is doing, the power distance of genders in a society. But looking at the numbers alone can be deceptive. In the context of India, States with high literacy rates for example Kerala, still give out immense amounts of gold, or money as Dowry. Sates like Punjab still engage in female foeticide. We need to look at the figures more holistically.
Particularly Female participation in the labor force. Here is a Map to illustrate this.
We have to keep in mind that Education is a tool. Think of it this way, without education, our horizons would be shortened. It would be narrowed. But the society we live in, either through culture, or because you are wealthy allows you to pursue your dreams. For many Women in Developing countries, either they receive elemental education and are forced to drop out, drop out at secondary level, achieve tertiary education and then forced to drop out and usually marry.
Education should bring with it choices. A choice for a Woman to work or not, a choice to marry or not. A choice in their career choices. The most valuable resource for a nation is it's Human Resource. A nation never becomes truly developed by neglecting one half of it.
According to Indian Census 2011 the literacy rate was 74%. But the striking fact was that the Male literacy rate was 82% while the female literacy rate was 65%. In the future, the quality of education delivered, gender gap in education, graduation of women from secondary education, enrollment rate of women in tertiary education and female participation rate in the labor force should be paid close attention too.
Indian politicians after the economic contraction talk about entrepreneurship, job creation. What can help India too is more Women entrepreneurs, more Women in the workforce, so not only can they create wealth, but also serve as role model for Indian girls.
This was my first article here. Sorry if the article appear disjointed, and Rambling.
@Aeronaut @scorpionx @Azlan Haider @Manticore @Oscar @Dillinger @levina @SarthakGanguly @nair @FaujHistorian @Indischer
I have noticed that whenever there are elections in India, well even in a lot of the developing world countries, discussion about population growth, and the ways to tackle it are nearly absent. Is it because the society is conservative? Does the customs and ores of the nation prevent them to speak on population growth because they are closely linked to sexual activities I don't know. and I can't give you that answer. But what I can give is one of the most effective ways to improve Human development Indicators that a lot of developing countries, including India missed. Especially female literacy. From now on, I will me referring to India or developing countries in general. Feel free to make comparisons with your own nations.
To start off here is a graph
The graph is a bit dated, but I am sure it is still relevant today. But there are other benefits to female literacy as well
Social Benefits
Using the example of India. A lot of children tends to die, especially so in rural poor areas due to infectious diseases. This of course have been found to have been easily preventable, if the child had washed his/her hands regularly, trim the nails and observed basic hygiene protocols. Literacy itself brings with it 'Health literacy.'
"The Bolivia study revealed that ‘improvements in health-related knowledge and behavior were greater for women who attended literacy and basic education programs’ (p xi). Positive changes included: seeking medical health for themselves and a sick child, adopting preventive health measures, such as immunisation, and greater knowledge of family planning methods" (Robinson-Pant, 2004)
There is a link between fertillity rates and Female education. The Table that illustrates this is below.
Keep in mind that Infant Mortality rates have many causes contributing to it, but female illiteracy seems to be one of them
again, keep in mind that there are many factors to consider other than Female literacy by itself.
Literacy Rates Aren't Enough on Their Own
Female literacy rates are at the end of the day numbers. It does give you a number, an indicator of how well a society is doing, the power distance of genders in a society. But looking at the numbers alone can be deceptive. In the context of India, States with high literacy rates for example Kerala, still give out immense amounts of gold, or money as Dowry. Sates like Punjab still engage in female foeticide. We need to look at the figures more holistically.
Particularly Female participation in the labor force. Here is a Map to illustrate this.
We have to keep in mind that Education is a tool. Think of it this way, without education, our horizons would be shortened. It would be narrowed. But the society we live in, either through culture, or because you are wealthy allows you to pursue your dreams. For many Women in Developing countries, either they receive elemental education and are forced to drop out, drop out at secondary level, achieve tertiary education and then forced to drop out and usually marry.
Education should bring with it choices. A choice for a Woman to work or not, a choice to marry or not. A choice in their career choices. The most valuable resource for a nation is it's Human Resource. A nation never becomes truly developed by neglecting one half of it.
According to Indian Census 2011 the literacy rate was 74%. But the striking fact was that the Male literacy rate was 82% while the female literacy rate was 65%. In the future, the quality of education delivered, gender gap in education, graduation of women from secondary education, enrollment rate of women in tertiary education and female participation rate in the labor force should be paid close attention too.
Indian politicians after the economic contraction talk about entrepreneurship, job creation. What can help India too is more Women entrepreneurs, more Women in the workforce, so not only can they create wealth, but also serve as role model for Indian girls.
This was my first article here. Sorry if the article appear disjointed, and Rambling.
@Aeronaut @scorpionx @Azlan Haider @Manticore @Oscar @Dillinger @levina @SarthakGanguly @nair @FaujHistorian @Indischer
