” If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.”
The whole world is facing the brunt of covid- 19 and long-existing lockdown provisions being implemented by the government as it’s mitigating measure. It has tattered the socio-economic well being of all the countrymen and also the nation as a whole.
With the drastic fall in GDP growth rate, increase in the unemployment ratio, rural-urban divide, poor health infrastructure problems been considered as a frontline issue, the adverse impact of covid-19 on the girls education has also emerged as a pressing issue which needs due attention.
The pandemic is not just a public health challenge but it has also disrupted the social systems and institutions and fragile immunity against social inequalities. The women and girls are among the most affected groups during the pandemic lockdown. For women in India, snapping the mobility, income, their circle of social solidarity had its consequences.
Adverse Implications-
Lockdown and school closures implemented during the pandemic have already caused 743 million girls to miss out on their educations, and 10 million more secondary school- aged girls are predicted to be out of school before it is over.
1- Lack of access to technology –
Earlier, in June, a 14 year old SC girl in Kerala died by suicide, as she couldn’t attend online classes due lack of technology , as her father being a daily – wage labourer couldn’t buy her a mobile phone. This is one of the instances that made it to the mainstream media, while many go unrecognised and unreported.
In homes where there are both boys and girls studying , the brother gets preference to have access to online classes via mobile phones. We live in a patriarchal society, where the control over resources and knowledge lies in the hands of males, even if they are younger.
Moreover, it is even more difficult for marginalised sections of the society and persons belonging to rural areas to provide their children especially girls with a digital device, internet pack recharges and an uninterrupted electricity supply when they are unable to get a day’s meal and that to at a time when most of them are dying of starvation.
2- Additional Household Work-
Our homes aren’t gender neutral spaces and the stereotypes are saturated in a way that women bear the most burden of domestic chores. They are expected to wake up early, do the cleaning, washing, cooking, taking care of elders, and then attend the online classes and moreover this additional workload cut across the class, caste, age , education and profession.
3- Gender Based Violence-
With schools closed, many reports indicate an increase in the sexual and gender based violence, early pregnancies, unsafe abortions, human trafficking and child marriages. This comes just as support services – including sexual and reproductive health and child protection programmes- are reduced or under strain, limiting girls ability to report what is happening to them.
4- Year dropout leading to child marriages-
India faced an increase in child marriage during this lockdown. It is estimated that about 20% of girls are not going to come back to school after lockdown, most of the girls from families of migrant workers are in the vulnerable age where they are likely to get married.
5- Lack of access to nutrition and health services- .
Lack of nutritious food during lockdown and scarcity in general among marginalised communities had put girls at a higher risks. Many girls where exposed to hygiene and menstrual health related diseases because of the lack of water and sanitation facilities.
Girls living in poverty have extremely limited access to other resources even when there is no pandemic.
5- Economic vulnerability of poor and migrant workers may force the girls belonging to marginalised sections into prostitution and human trafficking.
Measures that can be taken in this regard-
1- Government has launched various edutech platforms inorder to provide digital education to students but along with it they should also ensure that this online mode of education reaches to each and every strata of society and state need to ensure that teaching- learning becomes a gender- positive approach for equitable access to technology.
2- Promoting intergenerational dialogue and jointly exploring solutions with parents to address issues like school dropouts of girls, early marriage, mobility and access to health services.
3- Where digital solutions are less accessible, low tech approaches like sending, reading and writing materials to home. There is a need to ensure programme scheduling and learning structures are flexible and allow self- paced learning.
4- Girl’s usage of cell phones to be encouraged socially and not looked down upon as taboo and to equip and train them with the necessary digital skills, including the knowledge.
5- Working with civil society organisations to ensure the inclusive and equitable nature of global policies, guidance and measures.
6- The role of ASHA workers is crucial in this time and ensuring that they have enough supplies of nutrition supplements can go a long way in ensuring health of adolescents in the villages.
According to me, inorder to meet the needs of girls and to protect them globally our response should be equitable, gender- transformative and protective of human rights. We need to overcome the existing taboos and hindrance in the path of girl’s education as there is no greater pillar of stability than a strong, free and educated women.