She topped her class, but not her life. In India, a woman can earn an MBA, speak five languages, and still be told her real job is to serve tea to guests . Beti Bachao Beti Padhao sounds empowering—until you see it’s often just a prettier way to keep women trapped in the same old cage. The real question isn’t why women aren’t working. It’s who’s holding them back?
The Brutal Irony of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”
The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign was launched in 2015 which aimed to empower India’s daughters through education. Yet, almost ten years later, India has one of the lowest female labor force participation rates in the world i.e just 33% in 2024, according to the World Bank.
Many educated women in India are still pushed into home roles, held back by marriage, family honor, abuse, or forced migration. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022 found that 44.3% of women who got vocational training never used their skills. Their dreams were cut short before they had a chance to take off.
For many Indian women, education is seen more as a family status symbol than a basic right. It’s often viewed as a blue tick on a marriage resume. The goal isn’t empowerment, but to boost the “sanskari appeal.”
We can take the case of Priya, a 35-year-old from India who traveled to Dubai after being promised a domestic job. According to The Guardian’s 2023 photo-essay, she arrived expecting dignity but instead she was subjected to forced labour, starvation, sexual assault and passport seizure:
“They put me in the car, stopped it between the mountains, tore my clothes, and raped me,’ she says. ‘It went on for 14 days. Because they always had their faces covered, I have no idea how different men raped me. I was constantly sobbing and pleading with them to leave me; they weren’t even giving me food.
Her expectations and her degree were crushed against the harsh walls of a house without rights. Priya, like many others, was supposed to be elevated by her education, but instead it made her a prisoner. The Kafala system in the Gulf deprives migrants, particularly women, of both income and dignity.
As per The Guardian’s 2024 investigation, over 50 women reported “beatings, starvation, and mental torture” .
In India, tradition often outweighs societal change. Nearly nine-in-ten Indians (87%) completely or mostly agree with the notion that "a wife must always obey her husband", Pew Study said, as per a report in Zee News.
Even highly qualified women are denied freedom if it contradicts their family norms.
Sociologist A.L. Sharada, in an NPR article, stated : in India, a woman’s role as a nurturing mother is glorified, while her ambitions as a competitor or achiever are often sidelined.
This isn’t just external pressure - it becomes internalized. “I’ve met women who feel guilty for wanting a career over cooking dinner for their in-laws,” she shared.
Furthermore, many women feel justified in putting aside their own goals when their husbands make enough money, which is a result of rising male incomes. According to a 2020 Strategy + Business report, this is not always overt coercion; it’s often a deeply conditioned trade-off.
Working women are referred to as "bad mothers," "selfish wives," or "rebellious daughters" even in urban India. This is not just a village problem - it’s a mindset pandemic which is dressed in modernity.
Candlelit vigils stir emotions, and social media trends can spark momentary outrage but these moments often fade before addressing the real issues. As Hillary Clinton said in 2010 at the UN Commission on the Status of Women:
“The status of the world’s women is not only a matter of morality and justice. It is also a political, economic, and social imperative. Put simply, the world cannot make lasting progress if women and girls in the 21st century are denied their rights and left behind.”
Her words still hold true in India. Despite candlelight marches after tragedies like the 2012 Delhi gang rape, women continue face deep-rooted inequality from streets to salaries, from homes to hiring panels. Symbolic acts like candle march and hashtags can start a conversation, but they can’t drive real change.
Prerna Girls School , Lucknow, is a living example of this where transformation runs deeper than performance. Girls like Kunti Rawat, whose sisters were child brides, holds an MBA and manages Didi’s Food, a women-run cafe. Her transformation began at Prerna Girls School, where Teachers teach girls not only math or other subjects but also how to dismantle patriarchy. At Prerna Girls School, critical dialogues, self-reflection, and resistance are part of the curriculum.
We need to understand that real transformation lies in grassroot gender equity interventions wherein mens are taught to value women as leaders and not as liabilities.
“It is not enough to light candles,We must ignite minds too.”
Women’s absence from the workforce isn’t just a family choice - it’s a huge economic loss for India. A report from the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that closing the gender gap in workforce participation could boost India’s GDP by up to $770 billion by 2025, an 18% increase compared to current projections.
Although women make up nearly half of the working-age population, they account for only about 25% of the labor force and contribute just 18% to the country's GDP.
NITI Aayog’s 2021 strategy paper points to barriers like lack of accessible childcare, unsafe transportation, and limited legal support, which often push women out of jobs after marriage or childbirth. In a May 2025 meeting, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the urgent need for structural reforms to raise women’s participation, including targeted funding for smaller cities.
These numbers highlight not just a social issue but a major economic opportunity that India is missing out on.
Flip the Narrative: Teach Boys About Gender from Age 10
Instead of seeing patriarchy as a problem only after marriage, we need to make gender-sensitivity classes mandatory in middle schools, especially in government and rural areas. Just like kids learn math, they should also learn how to reject misogyny. Training of male teachers and fathers is as important.
Make Mothers-in-Law Champions
Mothers-in-law hold real power in many Indian homes. We can reach out to them through rural groups like SHGs and Anganwadi centers with campaigns such as “Educated Bahu, Empowered Ghar.”This will help them to shift from strict enforcers to supportive enablers.
Shaping Work Around Women’s Lives
Instead of only offering return-to-work plans, we can encourage flexible micro-jobs, local business hubs, and mobile skill centers in smaller cities. Teaming up with digital platforms like Urban Company and Meesho can give women safe, home-based or nearby work with legal contracts and income protection.
Turning Aspiration into Action
All women-focused programs (like Start-Up India, Digital India, Skilling India) should reserve 30% of funds or seats for women. Ministries must report yearly on how these programs help women. Empowering local bodies like gram panchayats to track girls’ education and post-marriage employment through community dashboards will also help in the empowerment of women especially in rural areas.
As activist-author Arundhati Roy powerfully declared during a 2004 address at the University of Sydney :
“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless’—there are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”Arundhati Roy
Her words resonate with the stories of countless Indian women whose voices are hidden under layers of tradition and expectation .
So , Let us stop lighting candles for names we forget by next week. Let us light fires of reform in our living rooms, WhatsApp groups, and dinner-table conversations.
Because a degree without dignity is not empowerment - it’s betrayal.