Women in the nine high-population countries are the target of education drives, with immediate results for their children, writes Nadia Khouri-Dagher
Women are the target of education drives in many countries today, mainly because their educational level has been shown to have a direct effect on that of their children. This is an established fact, but very little credit is given to women’s contribution to the development of society.
A recent Unesco survey of nine high-population countries – Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan (the E-9 countries) – looks at the progress made in the past few years in educating and socially empowering women. The report says that despite disparities – with female literacy ranging from 40% in Bangladesh to nearly 90% in China – these nations have applied some ingenious policies that could be models for other countries.
The survey looks at women as teachers in the home and in schools, and their role in the community and in public life. Not surprisingly, despite changes in family life, women everywhere are still mainly responsible for a child’s education, and childcare is not equally shared in the home. Women are particularly accepted as the main transmitters of the values and norms that build a society and contribute to the group’s identity.
The report notes that women in the nine countries are numerous in primary education, less so in secondary schools and are a minority among university teachers.
The report is concerned about the lack of training among kindergarten teachers. In Brazil, these teachers are paid no more than a housemaid’s wage, while a survey in the state of Salvador showed that most of them did not even have primary education.
But everywhere, and especially in the countryside, the presence of women teachers raised the level of girls’ education. And everywhere, especially in Nigeria, the report said, “the arrival of women covered a shortage caused by the desertion of male teachers, who prefer to work in better-paid activities.”
Women are also playing a bigger part in meeting the needs of their communities, says the report. In rural areas of India, many health workers and teachers are women. Their role in Bangladesh has changed in recent years because they now contribute more to the family budget.
There are still few women in public life such as politicians, business people, religious leaders, scientists and performers – despite numerous commissions set up to encourage their participation. And in schools in the nine countries surveyed, the principals were usually men, even when most of the teachers were women. But though minimal, “the presence of women in the public arena has profound effects on traditional practices, attitudes and values”, the report says. Governments have come to realise the immense potential of creativity and skills represented by women, and their irreplaceable role in society and national development.
The report concludes: “Progress is evident in all countries except Nigeria. There have been substantial increases in the proportion of girls and boys getting basic education. Literacy rates have constantly risen. In some countries, such as Mexico, there has been a considerable effort to adapt education to characteristics and needs of groups who cannot regularly attend conventional schools.” And in all E-9 countries, “women in the most marginalised communities, in rural areas and in cities, have started to organise themselves to supervise and administer the application of government programmes concerning education, health and nutrition”.
Countries where women have made least progress are not the poorest ones but those “with the greatest inequality in the distribution of wealth, the lowest participation of citizens in decisions that affect national life, and low human and technical development indices.” In other words, social progress and empowerment of women go hand in hand.
– Unesco Sources
– The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, August 2001.