Michelle Obama Praises India’s Efforts To Empower Women

The Indian government has taken solemn efforts towards educating women. Through its various programmes like ‘Beti Bachao  Beti Padhao,’ India is marching ahead in empowering women and breaking cultural barriers that keeps them stranded within the walls of their home.

India’s National Campaign for Secondary Education provides affordable and accessible education to girls. It aims at improving the quality of education, enrolling more students and the removing gender bias. India’s National incentive scheme gifts money to underprivileged girls who have passed their 10th grade exams and turned 18 or above.

Separate toilets have been built for girls in more than 96% of secondary schools and provision of hostels near schools is made for girls coming from faraway remote areas. In one of the scheme, girls who completed elementary schools are gifted with bicycles so it becomes easier for them to attend school.

Michelle Obama has praised India’s efforts and say:

“I am thrilled that countries like Ghana and India and Rwanda are already doing such important work as part of this effort — from scholarships and mentorship opportunities, to innovative programmes to break down the cultural barriers that keep girls out of school.

We need you to work with the Bank to develop programmes that will meet the needs of girls in your countries. And if your country has already reached gender parity in education, then we need you to step up and support countries where disparities still exist,” she said in her remarks at a Special Event at the World Bank titled “Let Girls Learn!

Over the next five years, the World Bank announced allocation of $2.5 Billion in support of education for adolescent girls.

Of this she says:

“It’s an expression of our belief in the power of education to transform the lives and prospects of millions of girls worldwide, as well as the prospects of their families, their communities, and, of course, their countries. And it’s also an affirmation of these girls’ extraordinary promise.”

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