WOMEN IN SCIENCE
Women choose STEM, then opt out
WOMEN IN SCIENCE : Women choose STEM, then opt out

Plenty of women choose to study science and technology, but only a modest number of them are in long careers in these fields, and very few are making it to leadership positions.

#Science and Technology #Work+Life #Women
CHILD MARRIAGE
Girls get the power to refuse child marriage

In West Bengal, girls are being empowered to refuse early marriage thanks to a state government initiative that enables them to stay longer in school. The Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme has been remarkably successful in curbing child marriage and promoting girl child education, says Saadia Azim.

#Education #WEST BENGAL
MENSTRUAL HYGIENE
Why rural girls need more than just sanitary napkins

Handing out non-biodegradable sanitary pads to rural school girls who have reached menarche will not address their menstrual hygiene issue. Clean and functional toilets with water supply, awareness about menstruation, economical and biodegradable pads and more is needed, finds Puja Awasthi.

#Women's Health #Health
WOMEN’S EDUCATION
A better life through literacy
WOMEN’S EDUCATION : A better life through literacy

The broad-based Community Based Functional Literacy Campaign launched by the State Resource Centre of Rayagada, Orissa aims to educate women and drop-out girls in three of the most backward districts of the state. Abhijit Mohanty summarises the key take-aways so far.

#Adivasis #Education #Government #ODISHA
NAYIBRAHMIN WOMEN
Struggling against the double whammy of caste and gender

As part of a study on the socio-economic status of women from the ‘Most Backward Castes’, women from the Nayibrahmin or barber community talk of their lives of oppression and deprivation. Akhileshwari Ramagoud recounts their tales.

#Caste #Work+Life #Women
SCIENCE CAREERS
Where did all the women go?
SCIENCE CAREERS : Where did all the women go?
Vineeta Bal, a former member of the Prime Minister's task force for Women in Science under the Department of Science and Technology, explores the status of women scientists in India in a freewheeling conversation with Pamela Philipose.
#Work+Life #Society #Women
FEMALE ILLITERACY
Educating India
FEMALE ILLITERACY : Educating India
The Annual Status of Education Report, 2009 points out yet again that what stands between rural girls and a good education is often basic facilities like transport and proper toilets, writes Kalpana Sharma.
#Kalpana Sharma #OP-ED #Kalpana's Commentary
EDUCATION / WOMEN
A mother's touch at school
EDUCATION / WOMEN : A mother's touch at school
An innovative program of education for young children achieves the twin objectives of encouraging more families to send their girls to school, as well as giving the teachers a greater sense of autonomy over their own lives. Malvika Kaul reports on the Mother-Teacher Programme.
#Literacy #Education #RAJASTHAN
EDUCATION
Textbooks for change
EDUCATION : Textbooks for change

A number of new NCERT textbooks for class I to class XII have been designed to encourage children to question social prejudices, discrimination and inequalities. This is a conscious reversal of the earlier trend where textbooks reinforced prevailing stereotypes, notes Deepti Priya Mehrotra.

#Curricula #Children #Education
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Girls without power
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY : Girls without power

Despite islands of progress and even a paradoxical government-run success, the larger picture of girls' education and their empowerment is dismal. There is an enormous gap between fact and paper fiction, and the task for feminists and activists is cut out, says Deepti Priya Mehrotra on the International Women's Day.

#Curricula #Guest Opinions #Children #Women
GIRL'S SAFETY
Are girl students safe?
GIRL'S SAFETY : Are girl students safe?

The fleeting attention that is given to the rape of a girl in school hides the systematic harassment and violence that so many are subjected to - an important reason why girls drop out of the education system around the age of puberty. Deepti Priya Mehrotra reports.

#Women
New aspirations
Ramachandra Guha thinks that educational aspirations - especially for Muslim girls - that have long been deferred despite the promise of independence may finally be nearer to reality.
#Ramachandra Guha #OP-ED #A historian's view
EDUCATION
Barriers to girls' education

We should not be too quick to attribute low literacy among girls to poverty alone. A number of other factors are just as responsible. Wahidul Hasan Khan lists some of these.

#Education
Long and arduous road
Educationists and social scientists are increasingly veering around to the view that persistent gender biases are rooted in India's failed education system. As a result, the search for gender parity must begin with guaranteed access to quality education for all. Puja Rawat reports.
#Education