Constraints of literacy in developing countries Essay Example for Free

Constraints of literacy in developing countries Essay Poverty and illiteracy go hand in hand. Majority of the illiterate women live in countries with increasing economic difficulties and enormous debt burdens. The existence of multiple causes such as discrimination and deprivation against the female population is easily revealed (E. Malmaquist, 1992:19-20). Two hypothesis (1) barriers and (2) effects are constraints of literacy. Both will be examined and broken down for better understanding as to why they correlate with education to affect womens development.coge ger segegew orge gek inge foge ge. Several barriers reveal important patterns and trends in womens education in developing countries[1]. Each indicators leads to the same conclusions: the level of female education is low in the poorest countries, with just a handful of exceptions and by any measure the gender gap is largest in these countries.[2]cogg ggr seggggw orgg ggk ingg fogg gg.  Literacy Ratescoef efr seefefw oref efk inef foef ef. Literacy is one of the principal goals of education around the world. The ability to read and write is considered almost a basic human right. Yet low literacy rates prevail among women in many developing countries a staggering figure of twenty percent for female adult literacy rate (E. King, etal, 1997: 2). According to Malmquist (1992) women often face practical barriers to their participation in literacy programmes[3] (19). One must realize that even though literacy is not the only means to development it should be considered an essential instrument in the right direction to growth potential (25). This work from www.academicdb.com In Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Somalia and Sudan, fewer than ten percent of women are literate, while male literacy rate is not so low. The percentages of men who are literate are three to four times larger. Among other countries the gender gap is noticeable large: Libya 30%, China 38%, Zaire 26%, Botswana 21% and Turkey 23%.[4]coge ger segegew orge gek inge foge ge. Obstacles to literacy  Womens place is in the home. Subsequently, we have heard this phrase many times over. In several developing countries, this saying is true for while the men folk are away from the home, the women take over the mens work while attending to their customary chores. On their shoulder lie the responsibilities of the household, children and the work of the fields. Even though men work from sunrise to sunset, a womans work is never done. Many women rise at four or five oclock in the morning with a lot of chores to be completed before day is done. [5]coca car secacaw orca cak inca foca ca: Frequently a woman covers long distance carrying wood, water and farm products (K. Chlebowska, 1990: 83). It is no wonder these women have no opportunity in pursuing an education that will enable them in their developmental process if they have no time for the betterment of themselves.coca car secacaw orca cak inca foca ca; Educationcoaf afr seafafw oraf afk inaf foaf af;  According to Chlebowska, in 1985 some 130 million children[6] eighty percent of who were girls did not attend school. Insufficient numbers attending school, dropout and absenteeism are variables of the education of girls. Distance from school is one of several obstacles to school attendance. In rural areas where transport facilities are limited, parents hesitate to send their daughters to a remote school outside villages or homes. If transport exists they are not free and parent who are poor must either abandon schooling or make a choice, which is always the determinant of the girl staying at home (K. Chlebowska, 1990: 72). sabir4u, please do not redistribute this project. We work very hard to create this website, and we trust our visitors to respect it for the good of other students. Please, do not circulate this project elsewhere on the internet. Anybody found doing so will be permanently banned. School dropout is more frequent amongst girls. Also engagement, marriage and motherhood contribute to school dropout. The percentage of girls in primary schools in developing countries is lower than that of boys. A case in point is in Africa in1987 the rate of enrolment of boys aged 6 to 11 was 69% and that of girls only 56% for the same age group. In Asia 77% boys attended school while 59% girls did not (73). sabir4u, please do not redistribute this paper. We work very hard to create this website, and we trust our visitors to respect it for the good of other students. Please, do not circulate this paper elsewhere on the internet. Anybody found doing so will be permanently banned. In summing one can ascertain that under-attendance of girls at school attributes to less being able to neither read nor write. The reasons are that many of these girls live in rural areas and are generally poor. Parents do not see the attendance of their daughters in school a necessity and not essential when there are household chores to be performed, which in the eyes of mothers and grandparents are more important than education, whereas it is for boys as they turn out to become heads of the households (K. Chlebowska, 1990: 74).coec ecr seececw orec eck inec foec ec; As we have observed there are constraints put into place, which affect womens literacy in developing countries. Subsequently, it is more difficult for women and girls to acquire an education while boys are given more of an opportunity to do so. As a result, due to this kind of restriction on women the manifestation of gender-gap has astronomical influence that is irreparable.codb dbr sedbdbw ordb dbk indb fodb db.