I Have a Right to an Education: Girls in Northern India Speak Out

• In Event: Child Poverty, Rights, and Policies: Perspectives From Five National Contexts

Abstract

Objectives or Purposes
This paper examines the ability of children living in poverty in Northern India to exercise their right to education.

Perspective(s) or Theoretical Framework
In a society economically and socially stratified by relatively impenetrable boundaries of caste and gender, members of disadvantaged groups believe that education is the most promising vehicle for upward mobility for their children (Dreze & Sen, 1995). But education in India has historically had three dimensions of exclusion: caste, class, and gender. While India’s ratification of the CRC in 1992 has been instrumental in shaping educational policy reform aimed at making quality education equitable, girls in poverty continue to face innumerable obstacles in accessing quality education.

Methods and Data Sources
Data for this paper were gathered through open ended interviews, journal entries, and ethnographic observations. I worked alongside twenty girls (13-17 years) living in poverty in Northern India.

Results and/or Conclusions
The families of all the girls I spoke with are rural to urban migrants. A significant impact of migration on the girl’s education is the ‘different kind of thinking’ in urban areas that supports education of girls in poverty in contrast to the ‘old fashioned’ rural thinking where it is ‘bad’ for girls to go out of the house. A majority of the girls have a strong desire for education fueled mostly by a need to be ‘independent,’ to ‘become someone,’ ‘get a good job,’’ ‘take care of their parents,’ or ‘ in case my husband leaves me I will not be standing on his door.’ The girls aspire to professional careers in contrast to their mothers’ forced career choice of ‘living like servants.’ These aspirations are based on limited information of the financial and time cost involved in secondary and higher education. As they piece information together, many change career choices. No preschool experience, poor quality of schools and teachers, and high demand of household responsibilities are the primary reasons for the steep drop-out rate beyond the elementary level for girl in poverty. The enrollment rate at secondary level in India is only 40.7% with a very low secondary graduation rate of 0.9%; college enrollment rate is 5.8% and a college graduation rate of 3.1% (Barro & Lee, 2012). Awareness of their right to an education is slowly spreading among girls living in urban poverty in North India. While many of the girls and their mothers continue to accept the obstacles to education by believing that ‘it does not matter what one, especially a girl desires. A girl’s future is dependent on her destiny,’ an increasing number are finding the courage to fight for their right ‘to study as long as I want to.’

Scholarly Significance
Most research on education for girls in India focuses on parent’s attitudes towards their daughter’s education. Within the CRC framework it is important to recognize that the girls are the principal agents in their education and it is critical to have their voices inform our understanding of their educational experiences and shape educational reform correspondingly.

Author

• Imandeep Kaur Grewal, Eastern Michigan University