Mahila Samakhya Programme

“Education will be used as an agent of basic change in the status of woman. In order to neutralise the accumulated distortions of the past, there will be a well-conceived edge in favour of women. The National Education System will play a positive, interventionist role in the empowerment of women. It will foster the development of new values through redesigned curricula, textbooks, the training and orientation of teachers, decision-makers and administrators, and the active involvement of educational institutions. This will be an act of faith and social engineering…” NPE, 1986

The National Policy on Education, 1986 recognised that the empowerment of women is possibly the most critical pre-condition for the participation of girls and women in the educational process. The Mahila Samakhya programme was launched in 1988 to pursue the objectives of the National Policy on Education, 1986. It recognised that education can be an effective tool for women’s empowerment, the parameters of which are:

  • enhancing self-esteem and self-confidence of women;
  • building a positive image of women by recognizing their contribution to the society, polity and the economy;
  • developing ability to think critically;
  • fostering decision making and action through collective processes;
  • enabling women to make informed choices in areas like education, employment and health (especially reproductive health);
  • ensuring equal participation in developmental processes;
  • providing information, knowledge and skill for economic independence;
  • enhancing access to legal literacy and information relating to their rights and entitlements in society with a view to enhance their participation on an equal footing in all areas.

Important Documents :