In my experience, more Indian girls/women ( as a %) are in STEM than in Western Europe or USA.
This is true for upper middle and so on. But the big numbers (of undereducated) are in the lower classes.
AFAIK this is the norm for countries that aren't so repressive as to deny women education or the (realistic) ability to have a career, but that do offer less overall opportunity or freedom (in practice, if not de jure) than your average liberal "western"-model country, and have middling per-capita GDP.
Indian students (and more importantly, their parents) are generally averse to non-STEM fields when it comes to education. Getting through engineering/medical colleges is literally a part of the default life cycle in the current generation of middle-class India.
Especially Muslim girls are less likely to be allowed to get an education, some areas are very conservative
wouldn't this decrease the fertility factor more? It also doesn't address existing economic issues with different society classes (e.g. Hindu vs Muslim)
Well, gender imbalances are an economic issue.
> It also doesn't address existing economic issues with different society classes (e.g. Hindu vs Muslim)
Muslims in Kerala have a much lower fertility than Hindus in Bihar. The impact of religion on fertility in India is vastly overstated.
Absolutely!! And encourage them to take up a career.