India has made progress in increasing female literacy rates over time but still lags behind other Asian countries. In 2011, India's female literacy rate was 65.46% compared to only 2-6% during British rule. Literacy rates vary significantly between states, ranging from 86% for women in Kerala to only 55-60% in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Rural areas have especially low rates of female literacy due to discrimination and parents being less likely to send daughters rather than sons to school. Failing to educate girls has negative consequences for their families and the country as a whole by perpetuating high fertility and mortality rates.

1. Episode 5: Importance Of
Women Education
‘Education for all’ is one of the government’s primary objectives, but
India still has the lowest female literacy rate in Asia. India is
working, but at a slow rate, because we haven’t achieved what we
should have. From the beginning of the British Raj until
independence, just 2-6 percent of women were literate. In 1961, the
number increased to 15.3 percent, and in 1981, it reached 28.5
percent. In 2001, the literacy rate passed 50%. In India, the female
literacy rate was 65.46 percent in 2011. So, while there has been
an increase in female literacy, India still lags behind other countries
on a worldwide scale. The rate of female illiteracy varies by state. In
Kerala, 86 percent of women are literate, whereas in Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh, the literacy percentage is only 55-60 percent.
Surprisingly, India’s rural areas have the lowest female literacy rate.
Discrimination based on gender is common in India. As a result,
you’ve probably noticed or heard that many parents, particularly
those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, send their male

2. children to school but not their female children. This is one issue
that arises when parents refuse to send their daughters to school.
Second, especially in urban areas, it is typical to see parents
sending their male children to better schools. Even when girls enter,
they have a significant dropout rate. Why are girls treated in this
way?
We must comprehend the ramifications of failing to educate our
female children. When a woman is uneducated, it has ramifications
for her entire family as well as the country. Illiterate women have a
high fertility rate as well as a high mortality rate, according to
numerous research. It has been shown that if the infant mortality
rate is cut in half, the rate of infant mortality falls by half.