Education of muslim women in India: An overview

Education is the most important tool for empowering women. According to the 2011 Census, the literacy rate of Muslim is 51.9%. Of all religious communities, they are the least educated and most deprived section of society. The reasons behind this backwardness are large family size, poverty, negative attitude towards girl education. In the post-Independent era, the issues of women have attained a lot of attention and the nation is party to various conventions like UDHR 1948, CEDAW 1979, etc. Besides these, a number of rights are also guaranteed under the constitution of India to protect and safeguards the rights of women. In spite of these proactive measures taken by the government, the educational status of women is still in a deplorable condition.

The present paper deals with the educational status of Muslim women and its various provisions provided under the constitution of India. The study also identifies the educational backwardness of Muslim women and also discusses some measures for improving their status. The paper also suggests that the government should take more initiatives for improving their participation in every aspect of life so that they can contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation.