THE TIMES OF CANADA JULY 2022
THE NEW HORIZON FOUNDATION N
“
o country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.” – Michelle Obama. My mom always mentioned the substantial prevalence of gender discrimination in India and how a male child is preferred over a female child. I got to experience it
firsthand during my trip to India in 2016. I witnessed the struggles experienced by girls in rural India due to a lack of amenities, adequate staffing, and access to education facilities. I also learnt about the school dropout rates and socio-economic vulnerability experienced by these communities. The findings from a study done by Project
Drawdown show that “diminished education level among women and girls is the 6th most significant factor contributing to global climate change. If there are adequate measures taken to increase the literacy level among women and girls, then by 2050, 51.48 gigatons of CO2 can be reduced from the environment”.
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