Why girls? The problems facing rural female children/women.
Between 1951 and 1981 (that is, post independence in India), the
absolute numbers of illiterate women in India increased from 158.7
million to 241.7 million. 70% of the children who are not enrolled in
school are girls. The practice of female infanticide (when female
babies are killed after birth) is still widely practiced and has led to
gender inequality. This discrimination against women affects many facets
of their lives:
Limits access to food, which leads to nutritional problems
Prevalence of violence inside and outside the home
Lack of
understanding of the value of educating girls
Resistance to sending
girls to school
Early Marriage: Many girls in Anupshahr enter into arranged
marriages between the ages of 13 and 14.
PPES believes that education will change this practice. Girls
graduate from the school at a far more suitable age for marriage; what's
more, PPES helps its students' families find suitable mates for arranged
marriages and helps wedding costs stay within low by offering to host
the expensive wedding party as an incentive.
With time, we hope to change the community's expectations of the
proper age for marriage: when the girl is more mature, more healthy, and
when it is her will, instead of her parents'.
