Education and empowerment

There have been so many posts in the time that I was away from Pulsewire. I wish I could read them all.

I have always thought that education and nothing else empowered women. Suddenly I am confused. When I met people for an article, I met a doctor, with a specialisation in paediatrics sitting at home doing absolutely nothing but cooking and cleaning because her husband asked her to quit. The reason - in the hospital where she was working, she was the only female doctor in the paediatrics ward. She is all tears as she says that she wouldn't have married him if he had laid down such a condition before marriage. Family is not helpful as marriage is more important than a career. Agreed, but at what cost and for what reason!

There is another highly educated professional in a government job who puts up with an abusive husband because she has seen a divorced relative woman having a tough time in the society and because her own parents are against a divorce. To them, a daughter going with black eyes and bleeding lips to the office is better than a daughter without a 'thali' or wedding chain. And it's not as if the parents are uneducated.

The story goes on. Countless cases and examples.So, I am confused now. How important is education in empowering us if it doesn't make us stand up for our rights?