|
Empowering Women Through Literacy
W e don’t need any more clichés and platitudes on why it is important to mainstream
women and women’s issues into the national development. Economists
emphasise the gains that could be achieved in productivity. Sociologists
focus on the contribution women make to the family and community.
Scientists value the potential contribution of women to intellectual
creativity. Politicians, in search of vote banks, and business persons
dreaming of new consumers evolve their own seductive justifications. But
ultimately, there is only one reason why it is important to improve the
lives of women: it lies in the fundamental right of women, as of
all people, to have better and more fulfilling lives– which is possible
only in a society that is more fair and just than ours is today. This is
what philosophers call a "categorical imperative" or a "universal
truth" and what we at Development Alternatives (DA) would call a "non-negotiable
requirement of civilized and sustainable society".
For more than three decades, the international development community has been working to address the issue that "most poor people in the world are women and most women are poor people". Yet, the absolute number of poor and marginalised women is greater today than it has ever been in the entire history of mankind. Whether in the slums of sprawling third world cities or in the countryside, women bear the major burden of keeping their families healthy and their communities alive, yet they themselves are the helpless victims of a lopsided economic and social system. DA has for thirty years dedicated its efforts to redress these imbalances and injustices by introducing innovations in technology and resource management, creating new and more participative types of institutions and suggesting transformative policies that can enable women in our country to have decent, meaningful and fulfilling lives themselves, and thus also contribute their full share to national development. DA’s entire programme of work is based on the premise that to build and sustain a healthy future for our nation, there is nothing more important than empowering women. The first prerequisite for this is access by girls and women to good food, clean water and secure shelter to ensure their health. The second requirement is participation in the decision processes of their family and community. The third condition, perhaps the most important for sustaining the higher standing of women in society is literacy, education and skills to ensure a job and income. In all these areas, DA has pioneered new models. A major breakthrough, as an innovation and as an effective tool, is TARA Akshar+, which can teach a person how to read, write and do simple arithmetic in record time and with outstanding success rates. q
Dr Ashok Khosla
|