WOMEN, EDUCATION AND EMPOWERMENT: A STUDY IN RURAL KARNATAKA
In most of the developing countries education among women has been accorded a low priority. The norms of gender behaviour and the perceived domestic and reproductive role of women which was remarkable stable over a period of time have adversely affected the womens education. In addition, forces like negative social attitude, prejudices, restrictions and beliefs also contributed to keep women out of education field. The only goal placed before a woman was to train themselves to be good housewives. It was only after Independence that female education gained importance and led to changing traditional attitudes within family and the society. However, the fact that one amongst the major and fundamental problem for women in India is the high percentage (75%) of illiteracy. A considerable literacy gap still exists between men and women even after 65 years from Independence. As a result, women have been exploited and deprived of their rights and prevented from the process of empowerment. In Indian society, gender bias is compounded by discrimination and prevents women from receiving the education, access to training, health services and so on. Hence, it is imperative to study the educational status of women with respect to the factors contributing and to assess the level of empowerment on some selected domains as a result of education that they pursued. The present study is one amongst such modest attempts to understand the interrelationship between education and empowerment among women, particularly in rural areas. A total of 170 women from Dimbala of Kolar District in Karnataka were selected. All they were approached with the help of a Structured Interview Schedule. Generalization arrived through the study has been discussed in this Dissertation along with some important findings to find the possible means to empower women through education.