Reports Show Girls Are More Likely To Bear The Brunt Of The Pandemic In Terms Of Studies. Why Is It Always Girls?

Reports Show Girls Are More Likely To Bear The Brunt Of The Pandemic In Terms Of Studies. Why Is It Always Girls?

Well before the pandemic was even upon us, the literacy rate of women in our country wasn’t a cause for a celebration. In fact, the female literacy rate of our country was a matter of concern, so much so that until  last year, it stood at an alarming 60%, which was 22 percentage points below the world average. And so when the lockdown was put into place, things didn’t take much time to go from bad to worse. And turns out, like always, the brunt of this unfortunate series of events is being borne by women.

With various reports coming in during the pandemic that shed light upon how even though with digital dissemination of education, children from around and across the country could gain access to education, ones belonging to poorer households have faced a major barrier in this access, especially girls.

A report published by the Right To Education Forum highlights that while 78% of students thought (under an equal proportion of boys and girls) that their life was much better before the pandemic, girls had to bear a much larger burden. This after 70% of the girls have had to become involved in household chores, as compared to 38% of boys. And this statistic is pretty telling of the kind of patriarchy that still seeps in the lives of little boys and girls.

Also Read : Kriti Kharbanda Celebrated Her 30th Birthday By Gifting Education To 30 Girls. What A Lovely Way To Celebrate

With girls being made to contribute to household chores (just like their mothers), boys on the other hand have had the chance to study with full dedication, without any hurdles or difficulties. Not just this, statistic revealed that as compared to 37% of boys, only 26% of girls could access mobile phones. Considering boys have been preferred in households even in terms of being gifted gadgets or freedom, these numbers weren’t all that shocking for us.

The fact that with every catastrophic event, women are the ones who’re hit the worst, is in itself a wake up call for the government to realise just how much improvement is needed to empower girl and their education. Efforts of education to be more interactive and well dispersed is in talks, and we hope that apart from keeping an eye on getting kids access to a mobile phone, special attention to female literacy rate is also given.

Also Read : Study Says Many Women Don’t Know Where Their Vagina Is. So Sex Education Sucks Globally And Not Just In India?

Sadhika Sehgal

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