Smart education is a technology-driven education that enhances the teaching capabilities of teachers and enables students to learn more efficiently, effectively, comfortably and flexibly. Smart education aims to nurture smart learners to meet the demands of work and life in the 21st century. The development of smart education is more dynamic with the spontaneous participation of men as well as women.
According to the United Nations, women’s empowerment is a process by which gender inequality can be perceived, identified and eliminated in order to achieve equality of welfare and equal opportunities for women to acquire resources. The slogan of women’s empowerment was first uttered in 1975 at the World Conference on Women in Mexico. Its main theme was ‘Preservation of rights of men and women’. The main theme of this policy was the empowerment of women. Women’s empowerment is an international issue in the present century. In 1995, a workshop announced at the World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China created a major road map for women’s empowerment. It has subsequently played an instrumental role in the positive development of women. Women are a very important part of human society.
The areas of women’s empowerment are family, social and political capacity, administrative activities, planning for economic progress, decision making, educational activities, research activities, creative innovation, services etc. Kazi Nazrul Islam said, “Women are the source of creation.” They have been involved 
in the positive transformation of natural, biological, social, economic, political and cultural changes or the continuation of evolution since time immemorial. The more women are empowered in the society, the more developed the society is. Ensuring equal rights of men and women constitutionally. Our women’s society has set an example in the overall socio-economic humanitarian activities of the country, including agriculture, rural economy, clothing, industry, online business, coping with the Corona disaster, and progressing the economic flow during the Corona period. If the empowerment of women is well established, women will bring happiness and prosperity to world society in every field. Begum Rokeya rightly said, ‘Give the girls a good education and let them go to work; Let them earn their own food and clothing. We should think about the importance of women’s participation in education and research, the implementation of allocations for the expansion of women-friendly healthcare, as well as the importance of empowering women to climb to the highest peak of development, that is, to include the mainstream.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, “If you educate a man, you educate a person, but, if you educate a woman, you educate a whole family. Empowerment of women means empowerment of the motherland.” So, empowerment of women is very important for the development, progress and prosperity of the country. Smart education is the main stepping stone of empowering women.
In Bangladesh, there has been some improvement in women’s education at the primary and secondary levels, but their progress in higher education is much less. According to a recent report of BBS, “At present, the men of the country are ahead of the women in literacy rate. Currently, the literacy rate of men is 76.56 percent, but the literacy rate of women is 72.82 percent. However, while women are ahead in terms of population, they are far behind in terms of education. Recently, in a discussion on ‘Inclusion of Women in Smart Bangladesh’ organized on the occasion of ‘Basis SoftExpo’ celebration, researchers said, “Women are still lagging behind in higher education compared to men in villages and cities. Currently 30 percent of women study only IT. 12 percent of women in the country are IT professionals. Women have many roles to play in building a smart Bangladesh. Schools, colleges, universities should provide more opportunities for women to study IT so that they can study more.”
Women should come forward in education to bring them to an ideal position in Bangladesh and build a smart nation. A survey found, “Majority of the population in Bangladesh works as unskilled or semi-skilled laborers, both men and women, in the unorganized sectors. Many women who work on a daily basis are even exploited due to their lack of knowledge and skills.” Smart education helps give women the confidence to fight for proper jobs and their economic rights. They become contributors to the family income which gives them the power to voice their opinions.
Smart education can truly open the eyes of women. It exposes them to different disciplines and empowers them with the knowledge to be a changemaker. Smart education directs the women to claim their due rights as per the constitution of the country. It helps them overcome their own emotional pain and teaches them to resist superstitions and dogmatic beliefs. This education helps women realize that they are equal to men in proving their worth and skills.
When women can get holistic access to smart education, it indirectly takes the form of gaining power of awareness in them. Women usually inspire other women in their friends or family circle to take smart education. They take the lead in educating other women, which helps them develop leadership qualities and inspire them to be change makers. Smart educated women not only secure a bright future for themselves, but also they can lift the entire family out of poverty.
There are many challenges to be faced in ensuring smart education for women. For example; Insecurity, gender disparity, marriage before higher education, financial disparity, inadequate educational facilities, family reluctance in education etc. As suggested by the World Bank, several steps can be taken to overcome these potential challenges in women’s education. For example; 1. ensuring physical and mental safety; 2. Conditional grant of stipend or scholarship; 3. Reducing distance to educational institutions for easy communication and provision of safe transport; 4. To provide equal opportunity to male and female students to participate in cultural and social events organized in the institution; 5. Ensuring gender-sensitive curriculum and smart pedagogy; 6. Organizing recruitment and training of qualified women teachers; 7. Safe for girl students; 8. Creating an inclusive learning environment; 9. Elimination of child marriage; 10. Addressing violence against women; 11. Providing adequate materials for smart learning; and 12. Giving equal access to women like men to encourage IT education etc.
Education increases women’s political participation. Educating women doesn’t just make for women politicians. This means that women care more about electoral participation and political activism. Women’s participation in politics means that policies and politicians will not only focus on the needs and wants of men, but also have the opportunity to hear women’s voices by providing them with a voice.
Smart education provides massive employment opportunities for women. Namita Dutt of the World Bank once said, “Women need not just more jobs, but better jobs. Many factors push women into careers they did not choose, such as occupational isolation and illiteracy.” According to her, smart education of women can solve this problem. Firstly, it equips them with more skills and knowledge, and qualifies them for better jobs. Secondly, it undermines societal gender stereotypes, which encourages the acceptance of women in high-earning and decision-making positions. If all women and girls get smart quality education, their employability will greatly improve.
Therefore, there is no substitute for smart education in women’s empowerment. To enhance women leadership in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), we need to strengthen the platform of women’s empowerment by ensuring all possible opportunities for education. It is the moral responsibility of all concerned with education management to remove the disparity in women’s education and motivate them towards smart education by providing adequate technology based materials.
The writer is Principal, Daffodil International School, Dhaka and President, Federation of English Medium Schools (FEMS)
[Collected from The Daily Sun dated 9 March, 2023 12:00 AM].
