|
Although India is no longer considered to be a poor country, there is a wide amount of disparity which yet exists across the nation. With poverty being a deep-rooted problem in the country millions of Indians of both rural as well as urban India remain victims to a wide number of socio-economic problems. Some of the core issues that are faced by the country include poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and gender in-equality. The worse victims to be affected are at the lowest rung of the ladder- the under-privileged section of the society. These people, whether adults or children are known to suffer from the same consequences, only differing in magnitude. The most vulnerable section of the society are the youngsters who do not have their own freedom and lack the basic knowledge as well as skills to make their own decisions. Right from an early age they are conditioned to think in limited and narrow visions where their main motive is survival. Many of the children do not even get a chance to receive a primary/elementary form of education. Even if they do get a chance to receive education, the schools are unhygienic and lack the infrastructure and facilities to receive an enriching education. Many of the parents do not send their daughters to schools, even if they have the chance owing to the vast amount of gender inequality that is existent. Daughters are perpetually viewed as liabilities and preference is given for the male child. It is commonly said that if you educate a man, you educate one person; educate a woman, you educate a complete family. However in India, owing to the vast amount of discrimination that exists in the society many girls are yet denied education. Girl child education is one of the most denied forms of education and males are given preference, if a child gets a chance to be educated. Children are viewed as assets to the parents, helping hands so as to earn money. So, they encourage their children to take up any profession that they can obtain, whether good for their well-being or not. The important factor is that whatever it is is a source of income for the family. They engage in different types of menial activities, many of which involve long, gruelling hours and very often do not even receive a basic meal during the day. There is no sympathy or social or even psychological support from the parents as they too are caught up trying to earn money. As a result, these children miss out in the most crucial phase of their lives, a happy and carefree childhood. Most of them remain uneducated and illiterate and do not receive any form of schooling. As parents, too are struggling to make ends meet they may have their children married off right from an early age. Child marriages often occur because parents view their children as a liability and want to avoid any sort of liability in the future. In fact, India is one of the few countries where despite being illegal child marriages are widely thriving in various parts of the country. A startling number of 10 million girls are married off before the age of 18 years and once she reaches the age of 18 she is expected to have children. Moreover, the ill effects are many. Girls may face multiple abortions, have three or more births, be infected with HIV and there are also chances of even dying during pregnancy or even childbirth.
Related Articles -
girl, child, education,
| 
