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DOI: https://doi.org/10.63345/ijhs.net.v13.i12.6
Dr. Meenu
Assistant professor of History
Tau Devi Lal Government P. G. College for Women
Murthal, Sonipat
Abstract— The history of female education is marked with the fight with social, cultural, and institutional barriers which restricted women access to education and intellectual growth. In the early centuries, the scope of education was restricted because women were taught only domestic lessons, moral teachings, as well as informal learning at home. There were however significant exceptions, sometimes learned women in ancient India and the Greek and Chinese world, made their contributions to philosophy, literature, and science against all odds. In the medieval period, intellectual opportunities of women were still low, but occasionally religious establishments made it possible to learn in the form of convents and scholarly traditions.
The changes in the early modern era were slow and were guided by the philosophy of Renaissance and enlightenment which argued the importance of reason and education. Philosophers then started doubting the exclusion of women in the learning process and this saw advocacy towards women being provided with education. The nineteenth century had witnessed remarkable advances when girls schools came into existence, women colleges, and the reform movements, which associated education with the social reforms, and national development, as well as empowerment of women. Education turned out to be one of the most powerful tools of enhancing the social status and the involvement of women in the general life.
Legal reforms, democratic as well as international gender equality movements resulted in the mass growth of women education in the twentieth century. Higher education also gave women dominance in other areas like science, literature, politics and education and this transformed intellectual and professional background. In the modern world women have been acquiring intellectual prowess at an ever increasing rate and such is facilitated with the forays of international conventions that believe in the equal educational opportunities. However, the discrepancies still exist concerning the socio-economic disparities and cultural limitations. A historical approach emphasizes the role of women education in the development of intellectual history and social changes, which stresses the need for drawing a long-term understanding of the role in attaining an inclusive and fair development.
Keywords— Women’s education, Intellectual attainment, Gender equality, Historical perspective, Social reform, Empowerment
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