Why is this cause so important in India?

India is a huge country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. This makes it the second most densely populated country in the world, after China. However, a large part of this population is unfortunately living in poverty, making it extremely difficult for most Indian families to survive and properly take care of their children. With over 3 million Indian children living in the streets, another 150 million living as illegal bonded labour workers, and only about 50% receiving basic primary education, the situation for the younger generations of India has never been more dire.
In the whole country, the average literacy rate is about 65.38%, with male literacy being 75.85% and female 54.16%3. It is clear that boys, in general, have more access to education than girls do, which according to the 2015 report on gender inequality in India (produced by the McKinsey Global Institute) stops women from contributing more than 18% to the country’s GDP4. We believe that the reason for such inequalities in India is partly due to the fact that women are treated as less skilled than men deemed only worthy of housework, which they receive no credit for.
Since 2009, there has been an increase in the amount of children between the ages of 6 and 14 who go to school. However, there are still astounding numbers of children, especially girls who are sadly kept at home.
So, why is the Khilti Pari initiative of great importance in India? Well, we believe that women in India are still being oppressed due to a lack of education, which can result in many issues for them and for the country as a whole. Some of these issues include loss in potential GDP, and very low rates of female literacy. On a smaller scale, girls who don’t have access to education are at a much higher risk of becoming sex workers or of being victims of assault, kidnapping, and other actions that could cause harm to women.
Khilti Pari’s primary mission is to provide education for as many Indian girls as possible, so as to not only better the country and its economy, but to reduce gender inequalities, and uplift women who have the potential to do much more than just housework. It is particularly important in India, because of the huge disparities in the way genders are viewed, and the high rates of girls who are not sent to school due to socio-cultural reasons, that Khilti Pari is trying to fight against. Do you want to educate a girl? Do you want to give her a better life or potentially even save it? Follow Khilti Pari, and help make positive changes to the lives of many.