EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION AND HEALTH

To celebrate International Women’s Day, a discussion unfolded on women’s health and education, on 6th March 2025, with Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, and Timothy Curtis, Director, UNESCO, moderated by Himanshi Dhawan, Senior Editor, The Times of India. The panel discussed the progress made, the persisting challenges, and the policy directions needed to empower women in India.

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The event was organised by the Embassy of Austria and the Embassy of Slovenia, in collaboration with Diplomatist Magazine, on March 6, 2025. The gathering, held at the residence of the Austrian Ambassador in New Delhi, celebrated International Women’s Day and marked the handover of the EU Gender Championship.

Himanshi Dhawan set the stage by acknowledging the strides women have made across sectors—from sports to science, from fighter pilots to educationists. “Our indices in women’s health and education are improving, and we are moving closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she noted. However, she posed a crucial question to Timothy Curtis: Are we closer to achieving universal literacy for women?

Timothy Curtis emphasised the progress made in education, particularly at the primary level. “India has achieved near-universal primary education, including for girls,” he stated. However, he pointed out that the dropout rate increases during adolescence, particularly in secondary education. “A lot of the dropout rates in early adolescence are linked to health and wellbeing issues,” he noted, underscoring UNESCO’s initiatives in India to address these challenges.

UNESCO has been working with the Government of India to train teachers under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) framework. “We have reached approximately 29,000 teachers and 3 million adolescents through comprehensive training programs on health and wellbeing,” Curtis revealed. He highlighted initiatives like ‘Spot Red,’ which focuses on menstrual hygiene management to ensure that young girls do not drop out due to a lack of resources or support.