Female Education
Napoleon once said, “Give me an educated mother and I will give you an educated nation.” This statement is enough to prove the importance of female education. No nation can progress without educated mothers. Allah has created both man and woman equally. They are like the two sides of a coin. One is incomplete without the other. So, education cannot be the only possession of a single class or sex. Rather, it should be imparted equally to both men and women. Our religion has also made education compulsory for all.
In the past, our women folk were confined within the four walls of home. Parents did not allow them to receive education and to participate in any outside work. Early marriage, religious misinterpretation and the narrowness of our outlook created a bar to the path of education. These were great disadvantages. Parents also thought it a waste of time and money to educate their girls. They did not understand that if female children were educated they could be as competent as male children.
As our women folk constitute almost half of our total population, no real development is possible by keeping them uneducated. We must not forget that family is the primary training ground of human beings, and the mother is at the centre. An educated mother knows well how to make and shape the character of her children. She knows well how to bring up her children, to educate them and to make them worthy. In domestic life, she can also extend her helping hand to her husband. So, there is no alternative to female education.
It is a matter of great delight that women have started to come out of their cocoons. Being educated, they are advancing and joining a wide range of professions. They have already been able to prove their abilities. They are also becoming successful in establishing themselves in educational, scientific, industrial, cultural, philosophical, and literary arenas. Even they have become successful in exposing their talent in politics and politicization. They are becoming self-dependent day by day.
However, all disadvantages of female education including male domination of society, early marriage and religious misinterpretation must be removed in underdeveloped countries. The good news is that recently the scenario of female education has started to change. All possible facilities for female education have been extended. Education for girls up to degree level has been made free with a monthly stipend. More schools and colleges for girls are being set up to spread female education. If a mother is not educated, the child is not taken care of properly. So, all of us should come forward to spread female education.