Does Higher Education Grant a Successful Career to Urban Women of India?

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Outcome/Learning
I have been exposed to more feminist and gender theories more than ever before. I wish to work with women and gender issues in my future career as a development professional. I was awestruck at the different ideas that I was exposed to. This study has given me a deeper understanding as to what I wish to pursue later in life. I now know what I am interested in feminist as well as gender theories; at least a basic idea of this has been instilled in me through this study.

Apart from this basic introduction to this field, I have come to learn the major issue in this sphere. I have come to realise that education is one of the key factors that can change people’s lives, clichéd as it sounds. This idea is echoed through the minds of the young women I have met. They truly believe that education is one of the greatest techniques that will enable them to be successful in life. When I was going through the answers in the questionnaire this believe of mine was strengthened. This belief is stronger amongst the girls that hail form female headed households. They also tend to believe in this idea because they see education as emancipatory form their situation. The economic value of education is more likely than not that attracts them to further study. Much of their need for further studies is to better themselves.

This made me question the very purpose of education itself. I began to wonder if education that is sought out in working or middle class families ever has to do with the thirst of knowledge more than anything else. I was curious to know that if there was no economic value for education will the demand for higher education be so severe? There are a growing numbers of unemployed or underemployed graduates in the wor...

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... sphere of development. Sometimes being ethically correct does not necessarily help in the good-will of a community.

I have come to question my idea of development with this study and am struggling to not leave it. I am too young to be discouraged but I have started to believe that maybe this field is not for me. I cannot go on when see a person in trouble and leave them be. Ethically I was not supposed to advice the girl since it was not my duty as a volunteer in Akshara to do so. I wanted to help all. I cannot leave one behind even if that were for ethical reasons.

But over the course of my time here, I have come to realise that it is just negative talk. Once can and should do everything it takes to help another one out. Therefore after a day or two I let the organisation know about the girl’s actions, for which adequate steps were taken by the organisation.

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