Poverty is one of the major crises being faced by many countries all over the world. Out of the 2.2 billion children around the world, 1 billion live in poverty. One of the solutions to this crisis – child education – is widely rejected in many countries. Studies have shown that one extra year of schooling increases an individual’s earnings by up to 10%.
The Dubai Cares has taken up an initiative, ‘End Poverty. Educate now.’ to show the proportional balance between education and poverty. It has highlighted that a child’s education is one of the means to lift his/her family out of poverty. Studies have also shown that better educated people have a greater probability of being employed and are economically more productive, thus ending poverty. Though the literacy rate in many countries is rising, there is still a wide gap between male literacy rate and female literacy rate. For instance, in India, the literacy rate of men is 82.14% and of women is 65.46%. This indicates that many of the women in rural areas are still uneducated. The reason behind this is due to the irrational thought of families that a daughter’s education tops the list of the most unnecessary requirements. The moment a girl is born into such families she faces rejection. She is treated unfairly and is made to think that she was born only to be married off to another family. This situation arises due to the age-old thinking of the parents that a girl is a burden for the family and that the money wasted on a daughter’s education can be utilized for other purposes like the higher education of their son or for the marriage of their daughter. This thinking affects the daughter, which in turn affects the family, society, country and the world. An educated woman can impact the world with her strength and ability. Educating a girl means producing a generation, which is educated and capable of utilizing their thoughts and actions for the upliftment of the family, society and country. This proves that a woman is the heart of a society. So, child education is one of the methods to eradicate poverty and lift the country. This can be achieved only through the extermination of gender inequality and providing the children with quality education. |