Literacy and Lifelong Education
No doubt that education is the most fundamental right because it is at the origin of any other right. Thus, it is to be defended with all our energies and it is absolutely worth the investment of our time, endeavours and funds. Without education, nobody can truly be empowered and “that nobody” could ever contribute to the improvement of the world’s economy nor contribute to sustainable development.
Women are the first to suffer illiteracy on a global scale. Two-thirds of the 758 million illiterate people in the world are women. 76 million of these women are under 25.[i]
According to the World Bank, despite the progress, gender disparity in youth literacy remains persistent in almost one in five countries mainly located in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. With a rate of only 57%, sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest level of female literacy in the world.[ii]
As members of a professional women’s organisation and whose very raison d’être is to help and empower women and girls, we know that the concept of literacy goes well beyond simply knowing how to read. Are women who know how to read but don’t know their rights truly literate? Are women whose education hasn’t gone beyond basic literacy truly equipped for life? Literacy is something much broader. Literacy should allow women to be independent, to pursue knowledge, to understand the changes in their societies, to think critically, etc. Just as education is known to be a multiplier right – a right that, when fulfilled, allows for the fulfilment of a whole series of other rights.
Soroptimists understand this from a theoretical standpoint but also from a vast amount of experience. Soroptimists have been implementing projects to ensure lifelong learning opportunities for women for almost one hundred years now. Projects, all locally designed, locally funded, and locally implemented, give a sense of the overwhelming challenges women and girls still face today in their pursuit of literacy, in their pursuit of education, in their pursuit of equality.
This year’s International Literacy Day will be celebrated on 8th September 2023 under the theme, “Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies”. Civil society actions are powerful and necessary and can set solid, meaningful and even inspiring precedents, government action cannot be bypassed. The experience of Soroptimists throughout the world in the field of women’s and girls’ education compels us to call on governments to:
- At minimum, fulfil existing obligations in international treaties and agreements relating to equal access to education.
- In the lead up to fulfil the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, prioritise quality education for women and girls throughout their lifespan as a necessary foundation for the achievement of all development goals.
- Pledge to work towards policies and programmes with a life-course approach to education, recognising and understanding that access to learning is a human right at all ages, and that women and girls have different learning needs at different times in their lives.
[i] https://www.carefrance.org/actualites/alphabetisation-femmes/
[ii] https://blogs.worldbank.org/fr/opendata/alphabetisation-des-femmes-des-progres-mais-toujours-pas-de-parite