ARE FATHERS ALLOWING THEIR DAUGHTERS TO STUDY?

Female education in India has been a major concern since generations and what we find is that paternal support is extremely crucial for encouraging a girl child’s education. I belong to a conservative and a middle-class family of Ambala, a small town in Haryana. Yet I find my father being amongst those few aware fathers who are willing to break the society stereotypes and are willing to give their daughters the best kind of education. Despite financial and family constraints, my father has sent me to Delhi to make my dream career. 

This might seem like a personal experience but despite the discrimination in the society, we do find that educated fathers, who are concerned about their daughters’ financial independence more than their marital prospects are actually willing to get their daughters educated. Reports suggest that 78% people in rural areas want their daughters to AT LEAST be graduates which opens up new opportunities for them. While we appreciate an educated father, it is not without an educated mother that an appropriate support system gets build for the child’s growth which revolves circularly to explain how woman education is crucial. While paternal support provides financial support, it also instils within a child a sense of confidence and independence which helps make a society where women are well aware of their rights and are way beyond the clutches of patriarchy.