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Massive Illiteracy Causes Women’s Low Social Status

by Wilasinfe Phiphitinil
***Two out of three unenrolled school-aged children are girls. In Asia and the Pacific, there are 28. million female illiterates (against 14 million illiterate males)
UNTIL today. Thals can still be heard saying "having daughters is like constructing a toilet tn the front yard of the house" or "men are grains but women are cooked rice."
And In Vietnam, many still tend to think that "one son means having children, but the possession of two daughters really means nothing at all "
Many people In Papua New Guinea, loo. are still of the opinion that "a boy inherits my land while a gtrl becomes another man's wife."
In Bangladesh. the saying that "the presence of women on the land that H being sown would lead to the destruction of the crops’ Is still heard. In Bhutan, the belief ts that ’a woman must be reborn nine times to gain the stature equal to that of a man.’
Views like these, whether or not said In jest or even half-seriously, were presented by 21 literacy specialists who met here recently to discuss the link between women's status In society and literacy.
Their conclusion: sexual discrimination may be the primary cause of persistent Illiteracy In developing countries. especially among women.
Negative altitudes towards women and girls may be at the root of massive Illiteracy tn developing countries. the specialists said during a meeting organised by the United Nations Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) The specialists stressed the need to develop curricula which highlight aromen's role in society
Nearly all (98 per cent) of
the worlds adult Illiterate population (889 million In 1985) are In developing countries. According to UNESCO, women comprise 48.9 per cent of the Illiterates In developing countries.
Two out of three unenrolled school-aged children are girls, in countries with the fowesi Income, the primary school enrollment rate for girls Is 20
^er^cent lower than that for
In Asia and the Pacific, the number of female illiterates Is even Increasing. During the past IS years, their number rose to 28 million while male illiterates numbered only 14 million.
In Pakistan, for example, the literacy rate among rural women la 10 per cent and among female urban residents 40 per cent. In contrast rural mate literacy rate Is 30 per cent and urban male literacy rate Is 48 per cent
In some areas in Bangladesh, the female literacy rate Is at most only four per eent. Sultana Afroze. a Bangladeshi who has actively campaigned for women s education. noted during the meet Ing that the link between llht emey and the low status of •omen is particularly pro nouneed In her country and the Indian subcontinent
This tow regard for Ie males
fs demonstrated as early as birth. It Is also not confined Io the unsophisticated and uned ucated.
In the Terai region of southeastern Nepal, which 1s close to the Indian border. It Is a matter of collective sorrow for the community when a baby girl Is born to any of the families. Similarly. more conserva
five families, who are still bound by feudal traditions, often treat daughters as more inferior to even pigs and dogs.
In her native Bangladesh. Ms Afroze still hears often the saying that the presence of women on the land that Is being sown would lead Io the destruction of the crops.
The literacy specialists underscored the need not only to make women literate but also to ensure that those who have acquired the basic literacy skills do not revert into tIHter acy. They emphasised the need to provide education which is tailored to aromen's needs and of a quality which would equip them with the tools needed to cope with the requirements of everyday life.
Dr Namtlp Aksorkul. UNESCO's literacy programme specialist, pointed out that even though there has never been specially laid down re-
striettons for women, we found that there are still fewer women than men attending many of the literacy pro-gramrqea tn the region.'
She said there were a number of reasons for this Including the parents unwillingness to send daughters to coeducational schools or institutions without women teachers. Or there ts the traditional practice of keeping girls as far away from boys as possible outside of the famfly circle.
Among adult women, the Crsult of literacy 1s often mpered by the many chores traditionally assigned to them. Dr Namtlp said women are often totaled with household chores double the normal workload. This heavy work toad both Inside the home and out leaves very little leisure time for the women to engage In reading and arriting." she said
The lack of materials suitable and attractive to women is another reason for the failure of many literacy programmes to really reach them. Many ed urational materials are designed only for women with limited skills. On the other hand, many programmes are designed to provide specific benefits to men such as training In tractor operation and similar courses
As Shahcnn Atiqur Rehman, the former minister of education In Punjab, noted. "How could they (women) understand the working of an auto mobile engine when a good many of them had never seen a roadT - (fk-pthnews Asia).