The note discusses some key issues pertaining to gender, literacy and women's empowerment in India. It uses disaggregated data to illustrate the persisting gender disparities with regard to literacy and points out that despite this there is a lack of real political will to address issues of adult literacy. It further draws on data from the…

There are nearly one billion adults who cannot read and write, according to UNESCO statistics. Most of these are people living in extreme poverty, almost two-thirds are women, and nearly one in five is a young person aged between 15 and 24. The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) believes that there are five compelling practical reasons for…

The following papers are included: "Seminar's Focus on Practice Puts Action on the Human Level" (Margaret Gayfer); "Literacy: What Do Definitions Tell Us?" (Carman Hunter); "The Practice of Literacy in the Netherlands" (Ella Bohnenn); "The Approach of Popular Literacy Groups in Quebec" (Louise Miller); "Perspectives and Lessons from the Adult…

Traditionally women have been signified to be "for others", never for themselves. This conceptualisation is also present in the discourses about literacy. The traditional discourse justifies women's literacy based on the need to improve family health, well-being, educational access, and so on. Thus, it is seen as a tool for other ends…