5 Girls in India: Poverty, location, and social disparities

119 Impressive gains have been made in bridging gender and so-cial gaps in primary education in india , with an estimated 94 percent of all 6- to 13-year-olds now in school. But second-ary enrollment remains under 40 percent. Enrollment and outcomes are particularly weak among scheduled tribes, which make up percent of the population, and scheduled castes, which make up percent (Census of india 2001).1 On the margins of society, these groups have limited access to everything social services, credit, land, and oth-er assets. Membership in these groups is highly correlated with poverty and rural location (more than 70 percent live in rural areas). The depth of social exclusion creates a huge challenge for patriarchal social structure with a strong male prefer-ence predominates in many communities, resulting in gender disparities in all human development indicators (Filmer, King, and Prichett 1998; Siddhanta and Nandy 2003).

119 I mpressive gains have been made in bridging gender and so - cial gaps in primary education in India, with an estimated 94 percent of all 6- to 13-year-olds now in school.

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