{"id":371146,"date":"2026-09-05T21:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T15:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=371146"},"modified":"2026-09-05T21:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T15:44:00","slug":"womens-empowerment-schools-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/womens-empowerment-schools-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s empowerment \u2014 schools and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: <\/strong>The post \u201cWomen\u2019s empowerment \u2014 schools and beyond\u201d<\/strong> has been created based on “Women\u2019s empowerment \u2014 schools and beyond\u201d<\/strong> published in \u201cBusiness Line\u201d on 05th September 2026.<\/p>\n

UPSC Syllabus:<\/strong> GS-2- Governance<\/p>\n

Context: The NFHS-6 (2023-24) Fact Sheets<\/strong> show that India has made significant progress in women\u2019s education and empowerment, while substantial inter-State and gender disparities<\/strong> continue to exist. Women\u2019s empowerment includes access to quality education, economic opportunities, decision-making, livelihoods, healthcare, and effective women\u2019s collectives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Progress in Women\u2019s Empowerment<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Rural livelihood mission collectives have expanded to around 100 million women<\/strong>, creating greater opportunities for credit, livelihoods and collective action.<\/li>\n
  2. Women\u2019s collectives have improved access to credit, employment, nano-enterprises, livestock resources, farm and non-farm livelihoods<\/strong>, and reproductive and child healthcare.<\/li>\n
  3. Measures such as cash transfers, clean water, sanitation and free travel in some States<\/strong> have also improved women\u2019s lives and strengthened their participation in development.<\/li>\n
  4. Women\u2019s collectives have contributed to greater participation of adolescent girls in secondary education<\/strong> and improved access to livelihood opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Inter-State Differences in Girls\u2019 Education<\/strong><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. The proportion of females aged six years and above who had ever attended school increased to 73.7 per cent in 2023-24<\/strong>, indicating considerable progress.<\/li>\n
    2. Kerala<\/strong> performs particularly well, with 96.6 per cent<\/strong> of females aged six years and above having ever attended school.<\/li>\n
    3. However, Bihar and Rajasthan<\/strong> continue to face historical disadvantages, with only around 64 per cent<\/strong> of females having ever attended school.<\/li>\n
    4. Telangana<\/strong>, despite having a relatively high per capita income, reports only 60.2 per cent<\/strong>, showing that economic prosperity alone does not guarantee gender empowerment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Gender Gap in Schooling<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. The data on people aged 15-49 years with ten or more years of schooling<\/strong> also reveals significant gender disparities.<\/li>\n
      2. Kerala<\/strong> performs particularly well, with 86.6 per cent of females having ten or more years of schooling compared with 82.1 per cent of males.<\/li>\n
      3. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat<\/strong> have less than 40 per cent of their population in this age group achieving ten or more years of schooling.<\/li>\n
      4. Telangana<\/strong> has a gender gap of around 13.9 percentage points<\/strong>, indicating the need for stronger efforts to improve girls\u2019 education.<\/li>\n
      5. Haryana<\/strong>, despite its high per capita income, has a gender gap of around 9.2 percentage points<\/strong>, demonstrating that income does not automatically translate into social development.<\/li>\n
      6. These variations show that gender inequality can remain a major obstacle to development and well-being even in economically prosperous States<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Women\u2019s Empowerment and Child Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. Gender inequalities also have a strong relationship with stunting among children below five years of age<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        2. The better-performing States generally have stunting levels below the national average of 29.3 per cent<\/strong>, whereas the aspiring States generally remain above the national average.<\/li>\n
        3. States such as Haryana, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka<\/strong> show relatively concerning stunting outcomes despite their economic performance.<\/li>\n
        4. Reducing the gender gap in ten years of schooling<\/strong> can contribute to improving child nutrition and reducing stunting over time.<\/li>\n
        5. Women\u2019s education, empowerment, voice, agency and collective action can produce long-term improvements in household and child well-being<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Role of Women\u2019s Collectives and Local Governance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
            \n
          1. States such as Sikkim, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar<\/strong> have made significant progress in reducing child stunting through collaborative governance involving women\u2019s collectives.<\/li>\n
          2. The Panchayati Raj Institutions\u2013Self-Help Group (PRI-SHG) framework<\/strong> has helped promote a more gender-sensitive approach to development.<\/li>\n
          3. Women\u2019s collectives provide women with greater voice, bargaining power, access to resources and opportunities for collective decision-making<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
          4. Decentralisation and community participation can therefore strengthen the implementation of development programmes at the grassroots level.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Importance of Pre-School Education<\/strong><\/h2>\n
              \n
            1. Less than 50 per cent of children aged 2-4 years<\/strong> are covered by pre-school education, showing that universal early childhood education remains a challenge.<\/li>\n
            2. The better-performing States generally have higher pre-school coverage, highlighting the importance of early childhood education in holistic child development<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
            3. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020<\/strong> rightly emphasises pre-school education as an important component of the education system.<\/li>\n
            4. Expanding quality pre-school education can improve human capital, learning outcomes and long-term development<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Role of Women Care Workers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
                \n
              1. ASHAs, Anganwadi workers and helpers<\/strong> play a critical role in delivering health, nutrition, childcare and other essential services at the grassroots level.<\/li>\n
              2. However, their low compensation and inadequate support<\/strong> can affect the quality of childcare and other last-mile services.<\/li>\n
              3. Better compensation and stronger institutional support for these locally resident women workers are necessary to provide quality day-care centres and cr\u00e8ches<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
              4. Adequate childcare facilities are particularly important for enabling women\u2019s participation in the labour force<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
              5. Investment in quality childcare can simultaneously improve human capital, female labour force participation, productivity and economic growth<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n
                  \n
                1. Patriarchal attitudes<\/strong> continue to restrict women\u2019s opportunities and decision-making power despite improvements in several indicators.<\/li>\n
                2. Significant regional and inter-State disparities<\/strong> continue to exist in girls\u2019 education, schooling years, nutrition and access to early childhood services.<\/li>\n
                3. High per capita income does not always result in commensurate social development<\/strong>, as demonstrated by the performance of some economically prosperous States.<\/li>\n
                4. Gaps in pre-school coverage and inadequate compensation for frontline women workers continue to weaken the delivery of essential social services.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n
                    \n
                  1. Governments should prioritise universal and quality education for girls<\/strong>, particularly in States and regions with historically low educational attainment.<\/li>\n
                  2. The PRI-SHG model<\/strong> should be strengthened to promote decentralised and community-driven development.<\/li>\n
                  3. Women\u2019s collectives should be provided with better access to credit, markets, skills, technology and diversified livelihoods<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                  4. Greater investment should be made in early childhood care, nutrition, pre-school education, day-care centres and cr\u00e8ches<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                  5. ASHAs, Anganwadi workers and other frontline women workers should receive adequate compensation, training and institutional support<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                  6. Policies should focus not only on women\u2019s welfare but also on strengthening their voice, agency, economic independence and participation in decision-making<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Conclusion: <\/strong>The NFHS-6 findings demonstrate that women\u2019s empowerment is not merely a matter of social justice but a prerequisite for inclusive growth and human development<\/strong>. Women\u2019s education, collective action, economic participation, voice and agency can reduce gender gaps and improve child nutrition, health, productivity and overall well-being<\/strong>. Therefore, India needs a development approach that combines girls\u2019 education, women\u2019s collectives, decentralised governance, quality childcare and economic opportunities<\/strong> to achieve truly inclusive and sustainable development.<\/p>\n

                    Question: <\/strong>Women\u2019s education, empowerment, voice, agency and collective action are essential for achieving inclusive development in India. Discuss in the light of the NFHS-6 findings.<\/p>\n

                    Source: <\/strong>Business Line<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    Source: The post \u201cWomen\u2019s empowerment \u2014 schools and beyond\u201d has been created based on “Women\u2019s empowerment \u2014 schools and beyond\u201d published in \u201cBusiness Line\u201d on 05th September 2026. UPSC Syllabus: GS-2- Governance Context: The NFHS-6 (2023-24) Fact Sheets show that India has made significant progress in women\u2019s education and empowerment, while substantial inter-State and gender… Continue reading Women\u2019s empowerment \u2014 schools and beyond<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[12044,300,212],"class_list":["post-371146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-business-line","tag-governance","tag-gs-paper-2","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}