Napoleon was once asked what the most important need of France was during his reign. He replied,” Nation’s progress is impossible without trained and educated mothers. If the women of my country are not educated about half of the people will be ignorant.” Education for women is highly imperative as it develops them as an individual who play a pivotal role in a society, are well informed and independent. They are the ones who lead to the upbringing of children and fulfill the duty of educating them along the way. A famous saying is that “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” It means that a mother exercises great influence over the lives of her children. She is able to mold their thoughts and character.
Regardless of this, there is a plethora of people who do not want to educate their women because of the simple fact they think that women do not need and deserve education. It is thought by them that women are to take care of everyone except themselves. That they have to take care of the children and have to stay home due to this, clean up the house, and be the self-denying wife and mother who would have to give up her career for them.
They think that the life of a woman is mainly based on getting married, having children, and being bombarded by details of domesticity but they do not understand that education is very important for women not only for them but for a whole family because women are the mothers of the future generation. If women are uneducated, the future generations will face numerous challenges.
Women are the soul of a society and the society can be judged upon how they treat their women. History is replete with evidences that the societies in which women were treated equally to men and were educated had prospered and grew economically over time. It would be a mistake to leave women behind in the goal of sustainable development.
There are approximately sixty-five million girls out of school across the globe, majority of them being in the developing and underdeveloped countries. All the countries of the world must take necessary steps to improve their condition of female education as women can play a vital role in the nation’s development and progress. If we consider society as a tree, then men are like its strong main stem which supports the tree to face the elements and women are like its roots; the nurturer and the ones that keep the society together. The stronger the roots are, the bigger and stronger the tree will be.
With the help of education, women can be aware of their rights and how they should be treated. Women belong to a relatively weaker section of the society as they suffer from many handicaps due to rigid rules on their freedom, outdated social customs and religious practices. An educated woman cannot be exploited as easily, as she knows and is aware of her individuality and rights. She will not be easily suppressed. Education of women can also help in eradicating many social evils such as dowry problems that plague all parents, unemployment problem and others.
Women should be educated so that they are more conscious of the world and know how to solve their problems. It should be compulsory for all women to attend school and get enlightened. Sure enough, most women would excel and prosper. Women in the past have striven to be excellent and they should be considered as a source of inspiration as well. Women like Marie Curie who got the Nobel Prize in chemistry and physics, Rosalind Franklin who as an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer who made contributions to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, Ada Lovelace who was the first computer programmer that made an influential contribution to the analytical engine and others like them that stretched the boundaries laid down on women’s education and are still an inspiration to behold.
As a result, this means that when given an opportunity to learn and grow women could excel and lead to greatness. Women education should be supported as it is equally important and beneficial. Efforts should be made to disseminate women literacy and awareness. As simply marginalizing or discounting them is not an option anymore. Moreover, an educated woman is better equipped with skills that can help her tackle multiple challenges. Hence, concrete steps should be taken to empower women through education.
