Resources

165 million women in India over age 15 are illiterate and only 49% of girls in India enroll for secondary education. Dasra’s report Girl Power describes the status of girls’ education in India and the various barriers girls face in access to quality education. It then discusses initiatives being undertaken to alleviate these issues, key players in the sector and where funding can make a difference.

Girls in India are often denied education on account of prevalent social and cultural discrimination against women. Yet investment in girls’ education leads to high social returns, such as smaller families and reduced risk of domestic violence, increased immunization and reduced infant mortality rates, and a larger, better quality labor force.

Girl Power outlines how financial assistance to support girls’ education, retain at-risk girls in school, and facilitate a successful transition to higher classes is critical to their success in completing secondary school. In addition, it recommends creating awareness through research, providing rights-based education and information access to women, and advocating for gender issues at the policy level to empower women across economic classes. The report also calls for the improvement in the quality of education within the school system and the implementation of girl-friendly changes within the school system to encourage girls to complete their education.