Social Exclusion, Deprivation and Marginalization of Females of Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

This paper traces the trajectory of women’s socio-economic and educational status in the
state of Jammu and Kashmir. Women constitute almost half of the total human resources
(population) of Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately, denial of equal socio-economic
opportunities and strong traditional bias against women have resulted in low human development
indices over the years, as Jammu and Kashmir , like many other states, has lagged behind in
upgrading the status of half of its women, in many respects. Education is universally accepted as
a fundamental agent of socio-economic upliftment but women have not been fairly treated as far
as access to education is concerned. It is needless to emphasize that education for women is
synonymous to health, information, confidence, dignity, empowerment and independence.
Conversely, illiteracy leads to their exploitation in all walks of life. Despite the fact that
women’s education in Jammu and Kashmir has been a major area of concern for both the
government and civil society and some statistics have changed since independence, though many
ground realities have not. Gender bias against women and hence, gender gap still persists in
almost all aspects of women education and we are far behind a condition where ‘educating
women’ is no longer a news. The present paper discusses the trail of progress and current
educational status of women in the state.