Literacy is a state or condition which depicts that how many people of the society and the country are educated. Literacy is an essential feature for a nation to grow and to be developed. The more people of the country are literate the brighter are the chances for the development of the country. It is basically a foremost need when we are considering the factors like development, growth and globalization of the county. Literacy in a layman language means the ability to read. This ultimately shows that the person is educated. Education plays a vital role in the life of an individual. It makes a person able to think and act wisely and practically. The basic role of education is to enable the person to learn, a required way of behavior, thinking and acting in order to contribute towards the functioning of the society.
A society cannot dream of building up an infrastructure of development, growth, prosperity through the hands of illiterate members. At present India has the highest number of illiterate population. According to the Latest Census Report 2011:
• India’s literacy rate is 74.04%
• 82.14% male literacy rate
• 65.46% female literacy rate.
Very marginal increases in the literacy rate have been witnessed in these past years of the country. But what catches the serious concern over here, is the low rate of female literacy in the country. While considering the literacy rate of women, only Kerala is one such state where the women's literacy (92.0%) is certainly high in comparison to other states and it is surely a matter of concern to those other states. Following are the States which have low rates of women's literacy:
• Andhra Pradesh – 59.7%
• Arunachal Pradesh – 59.6%
• Bihar – 53.3%
• Jharkhand – 56.2%
• Jammu and Kashmir –58.0%
• Rajasthan – 52.7%
• Uttar Pradesh – 59.3%
The reasons for the low rate of women's literacy in India are many and moreover long established. First of all Indian society is a male dominated society and there persist a huge gender and sex discrimination according to which only a male is supposed to be the good and a wise entity in comparison to a female. A male is supposed to be the doer and administrator of the society, a male is strong enough to hold the control of the society and only a male is accountable for the development and proper functioning of the same. Hence, a male deserves to be literate because he has to take, the hold of the family in future.
A male is biologically enduring and energetic whereas a female is supposed to be tender and a little weak entity. Old ideologies recommend the female as the best caretakers of the family, her prime function or role in the society is; Reproduction and child bearing. She should live under the walls of the house and take care of the family whereas the male should move out and earn the livelihood of the family. So, here education is not at all supposed to be a necessary factor for females according to those orthodox and customized ideologies. Literacy in India is fundamentally perceived as essential only for earning the livelihood of the family. That is why male literacy is quite balanced and motivated in comparison to the literacy of women in India. Since a male is the bread earner so he should be suffice literate in order to earn for his family. Poverty, over-population and caste-system are also responsible for the low rate of women's literacy. Poor families have to prioritize for the education of the boy and a girl. Primarily they consider the education of the son as more important since the son is going to be the head of the family in the long run.
Today, in the modern era women are trying their best to break off the shell of old philosophies which project them, inferior to men. Women are becoming aware of their rights but still a large number of women are still illiterate especially in the villages. In urban areas and cities women are however in a better state. They are aware and understand the value of education in their lives. They want to be educated not only for themselves but for their family too. Because they know that education would make them efficient and better personalities. Women in villages are not at all aware and alert. They are simply illiterate and they have confined themselves in a limited periphery. For them, education is something which is not meant for them. , And if somehow if they wish to be educated then, their families and community do not support them at all. Many cases are noticed in villages where girls want to study, they also want to go to school as their brothers and other boys of the village do. But their families simply assassinate their aspirations and dreams because they feel a girl should rather learn the home chores at her best.
Having a low rate of women's literacy not only shows a simple statistic, rather it shows how deeply rooted orthodox and authoritative ideologies, does the Indian society still following! It shows how much firmed the foundation of gender-discrimination is, in the present scenario! Having the highest number of illiterate population is not a proud, proud is when, those all illiterate people become educated and become a nation which respects the women and believes in bringing them in front to bring a big change at large.
A society cannot dream of building up an infrastructure of development, growth, prosperity through the hands of illiterate members. At present India has the highest number of illiterate population. According to the Latest Census Report 2011:
• India’s literacy rate is 74.04%
• 82.14% male literacy rate
• 65.46% female literacy rate.
Very marginal increases in the literacy rate have been witnessed in these past years of the country. But what catches the serious concern over here, is the low rate of female literacy in the country. While considering the literacy rate of women, only Kerala is one such state where the women's literacy (92.0%) is certainly high in comparison to other states and it is surely a matter of concern to those other states. Following are the States which have low rates of women's literacy:
• Andhra Pradesh – 59.7%
• Arunachal Pradesh – 59.6%
• Bihar – 53.3%
• Jharkhand – 56.2%
• Jammu and Kashmir –58.0%
• Rajasthan – 52.7%
• Uttar Pradesh – 59.3%
The reasons for the low rate of women's literacy in India are many and moreover long established. First of all Indian society is a male dominated society and there persist a huge gender and sex discrimination according to which only a male is supposed to be the good and a wise entity in comparison to a female. A male is supposed to be the doer and administrator of the society, a male is strong enough to hold the control of the society and only a male is accountable for the development and proper functioning of the same. Hence, a male deserves to be literate because he has to take, the hold of the family in future.
A male is biologically enduring and energetic whereas a female is supposed to be tender and a little weak entity. Old ideologies recommend the female as the best caretakers of the family, her prime function or role in the society is; Reproduction and child bearing. She should live under the walls of the house and take care of the family whereas the male should move out and earn the livelihood of the family. So, here education is not at all supposed to be a necessary factor for females according to those orthodox and customized ideologies. Literacy in India is fundamentally perceived as essential only for earning the livelihood of the family. That is why male literacy is quite balanced and motivated in comparison to the literacy of women in India. Since a male is the bread earner so he should be suffice literate in order to earn for his family. Poverty, over-population and caste-system are also responsible for the low rate of women's literacy. Poor families have to prioritize for the education of the boy and a girl. Primarily they consider the education of the son as more important since the son is going to be the head of the family in the long run.
Today, in the modern era women are trying their best to break off the shell of old philosophies which project them, inferior to men. Women are becoming aware of their rights but still a large number of women are still illiterate especially in the villages. In urban areas and cities women are however in a better state. They are aware and understand the value of education in their lives. They want to be educated not only for themselves but for their family too. Because they know that education would make them efficient and better personalities. Women in villages are not at all aware and alert. They are simply illiterate and they have confined themselves in a limited periphery. For them, education is something which is not meant for them. , And if somehow if they wish to be educated then, their families and community do not support them at all. Many cases are noticed in villages where girls want to study, they also want to go to school as their brothers and other boys of the village do. But their families simply assassinate their aspirations and dreams because they feel a girl should rather learn the home chores at her best.
Having a low rate of women's literacy not only shows a simple statistic, rather it shows how deeply rooted orthodox and authoritative ideologies, does the Indian society still following! It shows how much firmed the foundation of gender-discrimination is, in the present scenario! Having the highest number of illiterate population is not a proud, proud is when, those all illiterate people become educated and become a nation which respects the women and believes in bringing them in front to bring a big change at large.