Literacy Programmes with a focus on women to reduce gender disparities Case studies from UNESCO Effective Literacy and Numeracy Practices Database (LitBase) http://www.unesco.org/uil/litbase/ Literacy Programmes with a focus on women to reduce gender disparities Case studies from UNESCO Effective Literacy and Numeracy Practices Database (LitBase) http://www.unesco.org/uil/litbase/ Published in 2013 by UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Feldbrunnenstraße 58 20148 Hamburg Germany © UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning While the programmes of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) are established along the lines laid down by the General Conference of UNESCO, the publications of the Institute are issued under its sole responsibility. UNESCO is not responsible for their contents. The points of view, selection of facts and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with official positions of UNESCO or the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO or the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of the frontiers of any country or territory. Edited by Jan Kairies with the help of Laura Fox and Justin P. Jimenez Graphic design by Jan Kairies Printed by Girzig + Gottschalk GmbH, Bremen ISBN 978-92-820-1182-9 CONTENTS 7 1 Introduction 2 Africa 9 2.1 Ethiopia: Integrated Women’s Empowerment Programme (IWEP) 14 2.2 Liberia: Economic Empowerment for Adolescent Girls (EPAG) 17 2.3 Mozambique: Promoting Women’s Literacy in Angola and Mozambique 21 2.4 Nigeria: Mother and Child Education Programme (MCEP) 27 2.5 Senegal: The Tostan Community Empowerment Program 3 Arab States 33 3.1 Morocco: Means of Socio-economic Empowerment and Integration for Women 36 3.2 Palestine: The Early Childhood, Family and Community Education Programme 40 3.3 Yemen: Literacy Through Poetry (LTPP) 4 Asia and the Pacific 45 4.1 Cambodia: Community Self-prevention Against Trafficking of Women and Children (CSPATWC) 47 4.2 India: Khabar Lahariya (News Waves) 51 4.3 India: Sahajani Shiksha Kendra: Literacy and Education for Women’s Empowerment 54 4.4 India: Saakshar Bharat Mission 57 4.5 Indonesia: Gender Justice Education for Marginalised Women 59 4.6 Pakistan: Adult Female Functional Literacy Programme (AFFLP) 62 4.7 Pakistan: Mobile-Based Post Literacy Programme 65 4.8 Philippines: Supporting Maternal and Child Health Improvement and Building Literate Environment (SMILE) Mindanao Project 69 4.9 Republic of Korea: Mothers’ School 5 Latin America 73 5.1 Bolivia: Bilingual Literacy and Reproductive Health 76 5.2 Mexico: Bilingual Literacy for Life 6 Europe 83 6.1 Turkey: Family Literacy Programmes (FLPs) 89 6.2 Turkey: Functional Adult Literacy and Women’s Support Programme (FALP) 93 6.3 United Kingdom: Prison Family Learning Programme 7 1 INTRODUCTION Literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and a crucial tion and continuation of literacy programmes for women, element in the universally recognised right to education. though this is only a small sample of many successful However, illiteracy continues to exist as a global challenge, initiatives. and many individuals still lack the basic literacy skills that are needed to engage in further learning opportunities For more examples of effective literacy practices, visit Lit- and for the economic and social development of their Base at www.unesco.org/uil/litbase. This database is an communities. ongoing compilation and we invite organisations which According to new data released by the UNESCO Insti- are not currently featured in our collection to send us tute for Statistics (UIS), literacy rates for adults and youth material about their literacy projects. continue to rise. Young women aged 15–24 are making the strongest gains, but still lag behind young men. In 2011, 87% of female youth had basic literacy skills, compared to 92% of males. Despite these gains, 774 million adults (aged 15 years and older) are still unable to read or write – two- thirds of them (493 million) are women. Among youth, 123 million are illiterate, of which 76 million are female. Even though the size of the global illiterate population is shrinking, the female proportion has remained virtually steady at 63% to 64%. In order to redress this persistent gender disparity, the need to empower women through the acquisition of literacy skills is gaining increasing recognition. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE, 2006–2015), launched by UNESCO as one of its three flagship initi- atives for attaining Education for All (EFA), promotes a specific strategy for reducing gender disparities in adult literacy and empowering women. The Belém Framework for Action adopted at the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI), held in Belém, Brazil in 2009, also established the importance of literacy actions focused on women, as well as women’s access to and participation in literacy initiatives taking account of the particular demands of the gender-specific life-course. A number of countries are already implementing ef- fective literacy programmes that directly target women, including various E-9 countries1, LIFE countries2 and countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). This publication offers a selection of women’s literacy programmes that have been effectively implemented around the world. Each case study presents an example of a best practice in the field of literacy and basic skills, specifically demonstrating the importance of increasing literacy levels among women. The collection is meant to serve as a resource to inspire the implementa- 1 The E-9 is a forum of nine countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan), which was formed to achieve the EFA goals. They represent over half of the world’s population and 70% of the world’s non-literate young people and adults. 2 UNESCO launched the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE, 2006-2015) as a collaborative effort to accelerate literacy action in thirty-six of the world’s most challenged countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen. Ethiopia: Integrated Women’s Empowerment Programme (IWEP) 9 to UNESCO, more than 60% and 75% of the total adult 2 AFRICA population and adult female population, respectively, was functionally illiterate and unskilled as of 2003–2007. The high rate of functional illiteracy among adult wom- 2.1 Ethiopia: Integrated Women’s en is partly a result of most families’ preference of edu- Empowerment Programme (IWEP) cating male over female children; economic and cultural barriers which prevents girls and women from accessing education; the lack of concerted political support neces- sary for the sustainable implementation of existing adult Country Profile: Ethiopia literacy education programmes and the inability of exist- ing adult education programmes to address women’s basic — Population: 79,100,000 (2007 estimate) — Official Languages: Amharic; English (there are more than 75 officially recognised regional languages, e.g.: Tigrinya; Oromifa; Tigre; Harari; Agaw; Afar) — Poverty (Population living on less than US$1 per day): 23.0% (1990-2004) — Total Expenditure on Education as % of GNP: 6.1 (2005 estimate) — Access to Primary Education – Total Net Intake Rate (NIR): 71.4% (2007) — Total Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years): 50% (1995- 2004) — Adult Literacy Rate (15 years and over, 1995-2004): – Total: 36% – Male: 50% – Female: 23% Programme Overview — Programme Title: Integrated Women’s Empowerment Programme (IWEP) — Implementing Organization: dvv International’s Re- gional Office, East and Horn of Africa — Language of Instruction: multi-lingual (e.g. Amharic; Tigrinya; Oromifa; Tigre) — Funding: The Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE) — Programme Partners: Federal Government through the Ministry of Education (MoE) and other related Bureaus, Woreda and Kebele offices such as Women’s livelihood needs since most continue to prioritise basic Affairs, Agriculture, TVET and Trade and Industry; literacy over livelihood skills training and support. In light NGOs and Women’s Associations. of this and recognising that a holistic, livelihood-oriented — Date of Inception: mid-2006 (five-year pilot phase) approach to adult education is more appealing to adult women due to their familial responsibilities as well as Background and Context the fact that educating women has a strong potential to stimulate community development, combat poverty and Over the past few decades, Ethiopia has instituted various improve familial living standards, DVV International educational programmes including the universal, free and in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the The compulsory primary education programme (for children Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE) and various other under 15 years); the Technical Vocational Education and NGOs instituted the Integrated Women’s Empowerment Training Programme (TVETP, for out-of-school youth Programme (IWEP) in mid-2006.