The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
The Sustainable Development Goals are:
- No Poverty
- Zero Hunger
- Good Health and Well-Being
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Clean Water and Sanitation
- Affordable and Clean Energy
- Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- Reduced Inequalities
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Climate Action
- Life Below Water
- Life on Land
- Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
- Partnerships
Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 5 (Gender Equality) in the Sustainable Development Goals relate directly to provide girls’ education. Education is a medium that empowers a person, irrespective of gender, religion, and culture. Even before the Covid – 19 pandemic, the education system did not benefit the students in learning, creativity, soft skills, etc. The women faced numerous challenges in poorer countries. The problems related to safety, family, the environment in the school, gender bias, not enough resources, etc. have always been a barrier in women’s zeal for education. In recent times, the situation has worsened due to the pandemic. Poverty, unemployment, no basic facilities related to health, etc. have forced many young girls to leave education and focus on household chores. Quality education at the grassroots levels is essential and significant to one’s development.
Studies show that the children who can afford basic facilities such as food, clothing, house, health, and education are more likely to get better at school than those children who are unable to afford them. Most of the time, in poor families, 2 possibilities are seen: One of them is in which the parents decide to have as many children as they can to get them more money which makes it even harder for them to survive. People are caught in a vicious cycle. They have many children but don’t have enough to feed them. Consequently, the children are malnourished, illiterate, and unskilled. It becomes even harder for girls, considering the menstrual cycle, sexual assault, early marriage, prostitution, and human trafficking they are caught into. Women, children, and older people are considered vulnerable, hence have no say in the home. This further increases the power of patriarchy at home. So, in this scenario, no child gets an education and the poor become poorer. The second situation is where the poor are allowed to send their children to school but due to economic conditions, they are to send only one child. Here, the boy is preferred over the girl. In this scenario, even if they had the chance to send a child to school, the preference is for the boy. This increases gender bias which continues for many generations and is still in continuation in many countries.
Educating girls impacts society. It helps to aware people more about HIV/AIDS, enhances the economic conditions of a country, and helps to decrease the social and barriers women face. There are numerous laws enacted in India related to empowering women and educating them. However, the problem lies with the implementation. Educating girls impacts other goals as well. This includes Goal 10 (Reduced inequalities). Making girls aware of their human rights through quality education will help in reducing inequalities.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.
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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.
We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge