Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Meaningful empowerment” (March 8). The world was busy celebrating International Women’s Day but for the rest of the days, countries all over must focus on the plight of women and the challenges they face. While there is a long list of issues that stand in the way of the realisation of women’s rights, it is imperative that we, in India, focus our energies and funds on empowering our young girls through education.
Today, India still has 8.4 crore out-of-school children and 49 per cent of them are girls. A few fortunate girls, who do end up going to school, fail to complete their studies beyond the primary level. Education is a basic human right that should be exercised fully by every nation. When it comes to global development goals, evidence shows that nothing else has so wide-ranging impact as educating the girls.
When women are included in the economy, results are phenomenal. Higher authorities must ensure that all girls have access to quality education.