Monday, May 26, 2025
Empowering Muslim Women through Education: Addressing Challenges in Modern India
By Afroz Khan, New Age Islam
26 May 2025
Islam mandates education for both genders, yet Indian Muslim women face stark educational disparities due to poverty, gender bias, conservatism, and high dropout rates. Collaborative efforts by families, Muslim organizations, government, and youth are critical to bridge gaps and ensure equitable access to quality education.
Main Points:
1. Education is compulsory for Muslim men and women, but Muslim women’s literacy (13.5%) lags behind other religious groups (e.g., Hindus: 24.3%, Sikhs: 31.9%).
2. Poverty (31% Muslims below poverty line), gender discrimination (prioritizing boys), and regressive ideologies restricting women’s roles to households.
3. Only 76.37% Muslim students progress beyond primary education, with girls facing systemic barriers despite higher retention rates at upper levels.
4. Illiteracy limits socio-economic opportunities, forcing many into low-wage jobs like domestic work, and deprives women of decision-making power.
5. Government reforms (improving public schools), Muslim NGOs funding girls’ education, families rejecting outdated norms, and youth mentoring underprivileged girls.
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“Acquiring knowledge is compulsory for both Muslim men and women.”
– Prophet Muhammad PBUH
In Islam, education is a fundamental right of all and Islam has also granted this right equally to women. Education here does not mean only Islamic education. Education is of all kinds, which is necessary and essential for a better life.
As the ages pass, the form of education changes. Earlier, religious education, knowledge of different languages, health education etc. were given priority. But in today’s modern times, can we imagine a better life by only acquiring the above education? Definitely not. In modern times, it has become extremely important to adopt the changed form of education!
It has always been difficult for women to get an education. Muslim women have also fallen prey to this conservatism. According to a survey, the literacy rate has increased compared to earlier, but it is not satisfactory.
During the National Sample Survey 2007 to 2018, it has increased from 6.7 percent to 13.5 percent. However, this ratio is less in Muslim girls compared to other religions. For example, among Hindu girls, it has increased from 13.4 percent to 24.3 percent, among Christian girls from 27.9 percent to 35.4 percent, among Sikh girls from 15.4 percent to 31.9 percent.
If we look at another survey, the figures seem a bit scary. According to the figures, 25% of Muslim women have never gone to school. The situation is that 25 out of 100 Muslim women are illiterate and have no knowledge of modern education.
These figures are also worrying because this rate of illiteracy in the modern environment is a sign of backwardness and conservatism. They are forcing Muslim women to live in an era whose future is not bright. According to a UNESCO survey, if we talk about higher education, according to the 2011 census, the Muslim enrollment rate was 13.8%, while the national average is 23.6%. The number of Muslim students among the students enrolled in higher education institutions is also only 4.4%. According to this, women representing half of the population of Muslims are deprived of graduation or other professional education and are very backward in higher education.
Let us shed light on the reasons that are responsible for this situation: Muslim women face inequalities in literacy rate and access to higher education compared to other religious groups.
Financial Conditions
Regarding the poverty rate of Muslim population in India, a report by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in 2010 stated that 31% of Muslims were living below the poverty line. In a 2018 report, the average property value of the Muslim community was Rs 15,57,638. Overall, the Muslim population in India faces a higher rate of poverty than other communities. This has a direct impact on higher education. In poverty, girls are deprived of higher education.
(From Files)
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Gender Discrimination
Even in the 21st century, there are many Muslim families where if it is possible to provide higher education to one child in the house, that opportunity will be given to the boy and not to the girl. It is unfortunate that when it comes to higher education, it is directly considered as a means of livelihood.
Conservative Ideology
It is the misfortune of Muslim women that even after getting equal rights from Islam, they are trapped in the vicious cycle of fundamentalist thinking, conservatism and backwardness. These conservative and fundamentalist thinking tries their best to confine them to household responsibilities and confuse them by presenting all kinds of arguments and ideas, the result is that Muslim women accept this as their destiny, they think that this is the real Islam.
Higher Education Drop Out
A new analysis by the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE Plus) says that only 76.37% of Muslim students are able to reach the next level of education after primary level. This percentage is much lower than the national average which is 81.2%.
The Percentage Of Muslim Girls In These Figures Is Even More Worrying
At the primary level, 3.72% Muslim boys drop out of school compared to 3.22% girls. As a result, although the retention rate is lower for Muslim girls than Muslim boys, there are more Muslim girls studying at upper primary, secondary and higher secondary levels than Muslim boys, the Careers 360 report said.
Consequence
These disparities in the field of education point to grave consequences. They deprive Muslim women of even their basic rights and their role as responsible citizens becomes zero. Women do not have the right to take important decisions in their lives and neither are they able to raise their voice for it, because they do not know what rights they have as a Muslim woman.
If for some reason uneducated women have to earn their own livelihood in the future, they have very limited opportunities to earn a livelihood. Those opportunities are also not respectable. They have to work as a maid or servant in someone's house. This is a very sad situation. It is very important to get Muslim women out of this vicious circle. It is very important to ensure their participation in the society, to provide them a respectable life. It is very important to take some measures to remove this inequality in the field of education.
Muslim organizations should come forward and especially emphasize on women education. Muslim organizations can help the Muslim society by bearing the burden of education of talented girls who have to leave their studies only due to financial conditions.
The family will also have to make every effort for the bright future of their girls. The importance of educating a boy is as much as the importance of educating a girl.
Muslim families will have to come out of the thinking “What will a girl do by studying; she will have to go to her in-laws after marriage”.
The government will also have to make better education of girls easy and accessible to poor people. There is also a need to improve the quality of government schools. Even in 2025, when it comes to better and excellent education, people trust private schools and colleges more. There is a great need to improve this situation. It should be the government's responsibility to provide high quality education to economically weaker boys and girls.
Our Responsibility As An Educated Youth
We cannot do good to Muslim women by relying only on the government or any organization. As an educated youth, it is also our responsibility to provide basic education to any such girl in our vicinity. If we are financially capable, we can at least contribute to society by bearing the expenses of the education of a girl.
References
• https://www.aajtak.in/explained/story/girls-education-in-india-statistics-muslim-women-hindu-women-education-india-ntc-1557472-2022-10-17
https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2021/09/over-the-years-how-has-female-muslim-participation-in-education-changed/
• https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/06/12/education-of-muslim-women-is-limited-by-economic-conditions-not-religion/
• https://clarionindia.net/muslim-students-more-likely-to-drop-out-at-elementary-level-reveals-new-analysis/
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Afroz Khan is a teacher by profession. She primarily writes about women and Islam. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Education.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-women-education-modern-india/d/135669
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism
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