The purpose of this study is to examine the status of women's education and the challenges it faces in Madhya Pradesh with the help of other important factors. In Madhya Pradesh, the sex ratio and literacy rate are lower than for boys. This information is collected from other sources such as books, journals, internet and various government websites

This is a descriptive and exploratory study. The results showed that the main reasons for dropping out of school were housework and marriage.

Introduction
The importance of education in promoting and promoting personal and national development is well known. It is not only a basic human right but also affects every aspect of human, cultural, economic and social life. Education can also be seen as a means of promoting gender equality in many areas.. The positive impact of gender equality on economic growth can occur both directly (through more highly educated women) and indirectly through more educated women using resources to promote health. , food and education, and help narrow the gap between men and women in these areas for their children.

If education can empower women socially, culturally, economically, legally, politically and psychologically, then investment in education is not only personal but also national. To achieve educational equality, restrictions on women's livelihood opportunities need to be reduced and their access to these opportunities increased. One way to explore this persistent and deeply divisive issue is to examine the powerful role education can play in improving women's lives.

Historical Background Of Women's Education In India:

The history of women's education in India is marked by many individuals who challenged social norms and laid the foundation for the future of subsequent generations of women.

Savitribai Phule is considered to be the first female teacher in India. In 1848, together with her husband Jyotirao Phule, she founded the country's first school for girls. The family faced strong opposition from conservatives, but their efforts to educate girls and lower castes continued.

Pandita Ramabai was a social activist and a pioneer in women's education. She was the first Indian woman to be awarded the title of "Pandita," recognition of her exceptional knowledge of Sanskrit.

Renowned social activist Dhondo Keshav Karve and his wife Anandibai Karve have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of women in India. In 1916, they founded the Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha, an organization whose mission was to provide education and shelter to widows and poor women.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was a genius who made immense contributions to women's education, art and culture. He was instrumental in establishing institutions like the National School of Drama, Central Cottage Emporium and Arts Council of India.

Mahadevi Verma was a famous poet, scholar and freedom fighter. She was instrumental in establishing women's departments at Allahabad University and Kashgar Vidyapith University, an institution providing higher education to students from poor families.

Importance of Girls' Education in India:

1. Girls' education is very important for women's empowerment.
2. It reduces the number of infant deaths because an educated mother takes good care of her children.
3. Half of the population are women, and educating them will help in the economic development of the country.
4. Girls' education also helps in eradicating the evil of child marriage.
5. Educating the girl child will also help her contribute to the economic development of the country.
6. An educated girl will be more concerned about hygiene and health.
7. Education gives the authority to a girl child to choose her career and support her family.
8. An educated girl will involve in the political process to be a part of decision-making and raise her voice for women's rights.
9. An educated woman will never fall prey to domestic violence and can raise her voice against it.
10. Girl education is very important for the uniform development of a country.

Hypothesis:

The purpose of this study is to achieve the following objectives:

1. To understand the population and gender of Madhya Pradesh.
2. Know the literacy rate in Madhya Pradesh.
3. Understand the enrolment situation of students by gender in primary schools, junior high schools, and high schools.
4. Understand how many girls drop out of school based on educational attainment.
5. To know the major reasons for dropping out.
6. To suggest some points for the improvement in girls' education.
7. To discuss the barriers in the way of girls' education.
8. To highlight the various policies and programs by the government.

Methodology:

The present study is a qualitative study. The collected data from different secondary sources like books, magazines, journals, various government organization websites, internet, Google search. This is descriptive and analytical research.

Constitutional Provisions:

The Indian constitution not only gives equal opportunities to women but also empowers the government to discriminate in favor of women to solve the economic, educational, and political problems they face.

• Article 14: Equality before law for women - The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
   
• Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• Article 15(1): The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• Article 15(3): The State to make any special provision in favor of women and children.
   
• Article 16: Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
• Article 16(1): There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the state.
• Article 19: Freedom of Speech and Expression.

 
• Article 19(1)(a): All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression.
• Article 21: Protection of life and personal liberty - No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law.
   
• Article 39: Directive Principles of State Policy.
• Article 39(a): The State to direct its policy towards securing for men and women equally the right to an adequate means of livelihood.
• Article 39(d): Directs the state to secure equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
• Article 39A: To promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity and to provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or scheme to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied by reason of economic or other disabilities.
• Article 42: Directs the State to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.
• Article 51(A)(e): It shall be the duty of every citizen to promote harmony and renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
   
• Article 243D: Reservation of seats.
• Article 243D(1): Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
• Article 243D(2): Not less than one-third of the seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes.
• Article 243D(3): Not less than one-third of the seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats shall be allotted by rotation.
• Article 243D(4): Not less than one-third of the offices of Chairpersons in Panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women.
   
• Article 243T(3): Not less than one-third of the seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats shall be allotted by rotation.
• Article 243T(4): Reservation of offices of Chairpersons in Municipalities for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and women as the legislature of a State may provide by law.

Case law:
C.B. Muthumma v. Union of India (1979) 4 SCC 260) 44, a writ petition was filed by Ms Muthamma, a senior member of the Indian Foreign Service, complaining that she had been denied promotion to Grade I illegally and unconstitutionally.

Air India v. Nargesh Meerza (1981) 4 SCC 335) 45, Nargesh Meerza filed a writ petition, In this case, the air-hostesses of the Air-India International Corporation had approached the Supreme Court against, again, discriminatory service conditions in the Regulations of Air-India.

Five Indian laws that protect and empower the Girl Child
Over the years, the Indian government has undertaken various legal initiatives and measures to protect and empower the girl child.

1. Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994: The PCPNDT Act is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to stop female foeticide and arrest the declining sex ratio in India. The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders.
    
2. Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005: Equal property rights of sons and daughters were recognised after the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 which stated that a daughter will have equal ownership in her father's property even after she gets married.
    
3. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009: Under this Act, all children between the ages of six and 14 years have the right to free and compulsory education. The RTE Act also states that a child cannot be detained in any class till the completion of elementary education.
    
4. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: The minimum age of marriage in India for girls is 18 years. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act provides a civil remedy as well as criminal provisions to prohibit child marriage and protect the rights of the children.
    
5. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015: All children, including female children, have the right to be brought up in a safe and protected environment. Special provisions for the protection, treatment, and rehabilitation of girls under the age of 18 are included in the Juvenile Justice Act. This act protects girls trapped in brothels for child prostitution and protects any person engaged in an immoral, drunken, or depraved life.

Result and discussion

Table 1: Population and sex ratio of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh - 2011
1	Population 72,622,809
2	Sex ratio 931/1000

Source: 2011 census of India.

The most populous state is Uttar Pradesh (199,812,314) and least populous state is Sikkim (610,577), and Madhya Pradesh fifth largest by population with 72,626,809 and the sex ratio of Madhya Pradesh is (females per 1000 males) 931.

Table 2: Literacy rate of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh - 2011
	Male	Female	Total
Literacy rate	78.73%	59.24%	69.3%

The table shows that the literacy rate of Madhya Pradesh is respectively 78.73% male and 59.24% females. Difference between male and female literacy rate is 19.49% in the 2011.Female literacy rate is risen from last decades but still less than male literacy rate.

Table 3: Enrolment of students by gender of primary, upper primary, Secondary and upper higher secondary of education

Sr. no	Class	Madhya Pradesh
		Boys	Girls	Total
1	Primary	3883132	3574207	7457339
2	Upper primary	2228271	2046802	4275073
3	Secondary	1202941	1053461	2256402
4	Upper higher secondary	762249	705182	1467431

The above table shows that the status of girls in school. Overall in the Madhya Pradesh enrolment of students in primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary enrolment of girls less than boys enrolment. It shows that the conditions of girl's education are not good in comparison to boys.

Table 4: Girls Dropout rate by level of Education.

Sr. no.	Class	Girls dropout rate
1	Higher secondary	5.49%
2	Secondary	31.74%
3	Upper primary	12.06%
4	Primary	6.63%

Source: DISC (Disc Information System Education) 2020-21.

As per DISC 2020-21 annual school dropout rate is very high in Madhya Pradesh. It appears from the data that dropout rate increase with the increase of grade. In Madhya Pradesh, girl'sdropout rate in primary it is 6.63% while at upper primary level girl's dropout rate is 12.06%. It shows that the upper primary level girl's dropout rate is higher. It appears from the data that there is sharp increase in the dropout rate at secondary level as 31.74% of girls have dropped out in the academic year 2020-21. And in the higher secondary level girl's dropout rate is 5.49%. It shows that the highest dropout rate in secondary education.

Table 5: Major reasons for dropping out.

Sr. No	Reasons for dropping out	Male (%)	Female (%)
1	Other reasons	0.5	3.4
2	School is far off	4.6	5.4
3	Unable to cope with studies	5.7	6.5
4	Complete desired level/grade	0	13.9
5	Marriage	4.8	29.7
6	Engage in domestic activities	5.1	6.2

Sources- Educational Statistics at Glance 2021, MHRD

Note: Other reasons include:

1. Timing of educational institution not suitable,
2. Language/medium of instruction used unfamiliar,
3. Inadequate number of teachers,
4. Quality of teachers are not satisfactory,
5. Unfriendly atmosphere at school for girl students,
6. Non-availability of female teachers,
7. Non-availability of girl's toilet.

This table shows the reasons for dropping out of school. In this table, all the reasons are the most effective reasons for dropping out of school, but one of the biggest reasons for girls is marriage with 13.9%. Schemes of Madhya Pradesh Government for Women:

1. Beti Apki Dhan-laxmi aur Vijay-Laxmi
2. Ladili Laxmi Yojana
3. Lado campaign
4. Shaurya Dal
5. Mangal Diwas Yojana
6. Swagatam Lakshmi Yojana
7. Usha Kiran Yojana
8. Gaon Ki Beti Yojana
9. Balika Shiksha Protsahan Yojana
10. Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana

Suggestion:
Ways to improve girls' school education:

1. Poverty: Even if education is free, the cost of uniforms and supplies can make education inaccessible.
2. Lack of safe, private girls-only toilets: Stigma and other factors mean 1 in 10 girls in India miss school during their periods.
3. Gender inequality: Girls are often kept home from school to help with family care & housework.
4. Child Marriage & Early Pregnancy: Child brides are almost always forced to drop out of school.
5. Violence: Girls may face various forms of violence at the hands of teachers, peers, and other people in the school environment.
6. Long Distance to school: Girls are at an increased risk of experiencing violence or harassment.

Conclusion
Education is a unique community that can change many of the problems faced by girls especially in rural India. Therefore, special emphasis should be placed on girls' education. According to the findings of this study, the main reason why most girls drop out of school is housework followed by marriage. And girls have worse attitudes toward school than boys. According to the 2011 Census, the literacy rate in Madhya Pradesh is 69.3%, while the male and female literacy rates are 78.73% and 59.24%. It shows that the girls are not in good shape.

References:

1. Introduction to the Constitution of India - Durga Das Basu
2. Our Constitution - Subhash C. Kashyap
3. Constitution of India - P.M. Bakshi
4. https://pib.gov.in/pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1579546
5. http://www.ncw.nic.in/sites/default/files/Booklet-%20Laws%20relating%20to%20Women_0.pdf
6. https://www.unicef.org/education/girls-education
7. https://www.teachingbanyan.com/10-lines/10-li
8. https://www.openeducationportal.com/girls-education inindia/#Girls_Education_in_India
9. https://vanishinggirls.in/five-indian-laws-that-protect-and-empower-the-girl-child/
10. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-1320-women-empowerment-and-constitutional-provisions.html#google_vignette
11. https://thearyanschool.com/women-who-shaped-education-in-india/
12. https://dsel.education.gov.in/statistics
13. https://www.educationportal.mp.gov.in/Schools/Default.aspx
14. https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/data/population-finder

Written By: Mr.Sandeep Kumar, LL.B. Final-Year Student, Saifia Arts, Commerce & Law College, Bhopal (MP)
Email: [email protected], Mob : 9039890973