Women and Literacy: Promises and Constraints

In almost every country, illiteracy rates are higher among women than among men. This gender disparity can be explained in terms of (1) the sexual division of labor that assigns women many domestic tasks, especially, among poor and rural families, time-consuming chores, and (2) men's control of women's sexuality, which creates both physical and psychological constraints in women's lives. Research has identified various benefits of literacy for women, such as better maternal behaviors regarding child health and child rearing, and effective family planning. Although women could use literacy to increase their access to new knowledge, most literacy programs do not encourage this because their curricula are still designed along sexually stereotyped lines that emphasize women's roles as mothers and household managers. This article argues that these messages do not convey emancipatory knowledge and may solidify values and attitudes that cause women to accept current gender relations rather than to question them.