New Delhi, December 11
Her parents wanted to marry her off when she was 10 years old. She was not permitted to go to school as she was expected to do the household chores at home.
But 18-year-old Lalita from Sitamarhi in Bihar defied tradition and her family and insisted on pursuing her studies at a local day school. Today, she is a changed personality. A confident Lalita is a karate instructor at a Mahila Sikshan Kendra in her state.
“I was doing nothing but cutting grass, fetching firewood, cleaning and cooking,” says Lalita of her life before she attended the eight-month-course at a local residential educational centre. And today Lalita became a global figure. She has been featured on the cover of UNICEF’s 2004 report on the “State of the World’s Children” released in 166 countries today.
“Lalita has been acknowledged as a role model from India, overcoming the obstacles that usually keep girls out of school cross the world,” observed Maria Calivis, UNICEF representative in India, at the release function here. “I hope other girls also get the opportunity I got,” said Lalita, who was also present on the occasion.
Lalita is among the lucky ones but there are a large number of girls who are being denied this basic right to education. According to the UNICEF report, worldwide some 121 million children are out of school of which 65 million are girls.
This has serious implications for India, Ms. Calivis said, as India has the largest number of children in the world at 375 million while about 25 million are being born every year.
According to the UNICEF report, the adult literacy rate for women in India in 2000 was 45 per cent compared to 68 per cent.
This has serious implications not only for girls and women but also for their children and families for girls denied education are more vulnerable to poverty, abuse, exploitation and trafficking and they were more likely to die at childbirth.
Actress and former Rajya Sabha MP Shabana Azmi, who was also present at the release function, referred to the total absence of accountability in the field of elementary education. —
TNS
