Women Education
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Till some years ago, many dalit women were ill treated and educationally backward inspite of the facilities for free education. The reasons for the high rate of illiteracy among dalit women are many.
The following are the main reasons:
1 Resistance from the family to send girls to schools.
2 Fear of insecurity in villages.
3 Lack of physical facilities like accommodation, school, transport and medical facilities.
4 The girls were forced to take care of the siblings when the parents are away at work.
5 Girls were forced to do domestic chores which prevent them from attending school.
6 Working to earn for the family prevent the girls from attending school.
7 Working with parents to earn their livelihood in beedi factories or other unorganized sector made them illiterate.
8 Because of the sick and unemployed parents girls were forced to work.
9 Many were forced to get married at young age, which stop schooling.
10 Social restriction is that the girls should stop education after marriage.
11 In some areas there are complaints from dalit women teachers of misbehaviors, blackmail and exploitation by the male staff of other high caste people.
12 Distance of schools from home.
13 Irrelevant content of the education system.
14 Fear of alienation of girls from their environment as a result of education are some of the other factors for low literacy level among SC girls. Even if the education improved the marriage prospects of the girls, the minus point is the increase in dowry. Therefore many parents wish to withdraw the girls from schools.