The backwardness of a country depends mainly on the percentage of illiteracy. This percentage is fairly large among men in the world, but it reaches alarming figures in the case of women. So for the progress of a country, education for women is very essential. Men and women are two wheels of the cart of society. The cart cannot run properly if one of the wheels is defective. Women form almost half of the population of a country. If such large portion is denied the privilege of education, the country is bound to lag behind.
A woman must be conversant with her duties as a citizen of the state. She ought to be aware of the part she has to play in the growth of a nation. She must understand her responsibilities towards herself, her family, and her country. An educated mother can serve the country in the sense that she can produce good citizens.
An uneducated woman cannot be a good wife. She will be nagging and quarrelsome. She will not be able to understand her husband properly. There will be no mutual understanding which is so essential. The alarming figure of infant mortality is mostly due to ignorance on the part of mothers. Thousands of children are scarified on the altar of illiteracy. Uneducated mothers are superstitious. They don’t have elementary knowledge. Education can improve how the children are brought up and how they are educated.
SIDRA BANO M SALIM
Karachi
