Girls’ Education in India: Towards a Fairer and Better World
In August 2009, the Indian Parliament passed the landmark Right to Education Act. This Act made
education in India free and compulsory for children between 6 and 14 years old (Legislative
Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, 2009). This Act made it possible for
girls to go to school. However, it has been hard to keep them there. According to the 2018 Annual
Status of Education Report (ASER), in 2008, more than 20% of girls from 15 to 16 years old were not
in school. Ten years later, in 2018, this had only decreased to 13,5% (ASER, 2009). This means that
many girls are still not in school, even though education has been made free and compulsory. India
should invest in education for girls because it prevents child marriage, fuels the economy, and it can
decrease the rate and impact of global warming.
Firstly, India should invest more in girls’ education as it prevents child marriage. Child marriage is a
large issue that India is dealing with. Statistics from organization Girls not Brides show that 7% of
girls in India get married by the age of 15, and 27% of Indian girls get married by the age of 18 (Girls
not Brides, 2021). In March 2021, on International Women’s Day, UNICEF stated that to end child
marriage by 2030, which is the target set in the Sustainable Development Goals, progress in India
must increase significantly (UNICEF, 2021). According to UNICEF, educating girls is one of the most
effective ways to prevent child marriage, especially if they stay in school until secondary school.
“When a girl remains in secondary school, she is six times less likely to marry young.” (UNICEF,
2014). Hence, child marriage is still an issue in India, and educating girls is an effective strategy to
combat child marriage. Therefore, India should invest more in girls’ education.
Furthermore, investing in girls’ education fuels the Indian economy. Girls who are educated grow up
to participate in the workforce, which fuels the economy. According to a report by the World Bank,
when girls do not go to school, they will earn less money in adulthood, which depresses the labor force
participation. Eventually, this leads to a lower standard of living (Wodon, Montenegro, Nguyen, &
Onagoruwa, 2018). As stated in McKinsey’s 2018 gender parity report, India could add $770 billion to
their GDP by 2025 by encouraging girls to go to school and empowering women economically
(McKinsey Global Institute, 2018). Thus, educating girls results in a stronger workforce, which means
a stronger economy for India.
Lastly, investing in girls’ education will not only favor India, but also the rest of the world. Better
education for girls could also contribute to the environment. Climate change has a devastating impact
on India. The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 showed that India was the seventh most-affected by
extreme weather events in 2019 (Eckstein, Künzel, & Schäfer, 2021). The Malala Fund states that it is
shown that closing gender gaps in education can be beneficial for countries to adjust to the effects of
global warming. Moreover, it can contribute in decreasing the rate and impact of global warming (Fry
& Lei, 2021). More educated women can also come up with more solutions for climate change.
