Grameen Banks are a model of successful support for the smallest businesses. The Grameen Bank began in 1976, when Muhammad Yunus, an economics professor at Chittagong University in southern Bangladesh, loaned Sufiya Khatun, a weaver of bamboo stools, $4 U.S. to buy supplies and raise her daily profit from 2 cents to $1.25. Her success prompted…

This literature review discusses factors affecting women's participation and achievement in formal education systems in the Third World and factors contributing to gender inequalities in education. Cultural, social, and economic factors are identified; and recommendations for the expansion and improvement research are made. (TJH)

Describes Capacitacion Integral de la Mujer Campesina (CIMCA) development efforts within Bolivian farm communities. Describes CIMCA's focus on social change, ethnic empowerment, and women's rights. Describes organization's initial clashes with rural culture. Describes use of rotafolio drawings to spark workshop discussions, to improve women's…

Discusses rural poverty in Bangladesh and describes the creation of the Grameen Bank, which combines business with social engineering. The rapid diffusion of the bank both within and outside Bangladesh is described; interpersonal strategies used in communicating its programs, especially to women, are explained; and the socioeconomic impact in…

This document describes the rationale and the strategy of the new United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Initiative for literacy: LIFE. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is designed as a global strategic framework through which national governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil…

This study presents a summary of the major research findings on the factors that constrain girls' schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa. The factors are discussed under three categories: (1) sociocultural and socioeconomic factors; (2) factors related to the school environment; and (3) political and institutional factors. The study provides an outline…

This handbook presents ideas to prepare for, plan, design, and run a workshop on gender and women's oppression. It is intended for community, adult, and popular educators, trainers, organizers, facilitators, or teachers working for a liberated South Africa. Section 1 (chapters 1-3) helps the reader to think about women's oppression and gender,…

This document consists of 16 papers on aspects of Brazilian culture, history, and geography prepared by participants in the Fulbright Hays Seminars Abroad Program in Brazil in 1993. The papers are: (1) "Cordel Literature: A Window on the History and Culture of Brazil" (Juan Barroso VIII); (2) "Connections: Public Images of Indians…

This document explores the evidence that exists worldwide on the impact of girls' education, particularly primary education. It indicates areas in which impact of education is probably occurring, especially in those areas that have received little or no attention in the literature or that have been studies with methodologies that limit what can be…

Recent developments in fertility control are presented in relation to the global demographic situation. Discussion focuses on changes in scientific knowledge and concepts that have shifted the focus from birth control to planned parenthood to the notion of controlled fertility. The place of family planning programs, including their socioeconomic…

More than 500 million women live in the rural regions of Third World countries and all are illiterate. This book is intended to give these women a face and a voice. The book contains eight chapters and a list of further readings. Chapter 1, "How is illiteracy defined?", views a literate woman as one "who possesses sufficient…

This document discusses the need to increase the amount of U.S. international funding that goes to basic education. Because U.S. foreign aid programs are reviewed prior to a new fiscal year, this paper suggests that people can make a difference by working to raise the profile of basic education and by encouraging U.S. policymakers to increase…

The use of computers to facilitate learning is yet to make an appreciable in-road into the teaching-learning process in most developing Third World countries. The purchase cost and maintenance expenses of the equipment are the major inhibiting factors related to adoption of this high technology in these countries. This study investigated: (1) the…

About two-thirds of the 963 million people in the world who cannot read and write are women, according to the United Nations. Women who are illiterate cannot pass on literacy skills to their children. The United Nations proclaimed 1990 International Literacy Year and conducted conferences for literacy. Education for women and girls was designated…

In 1985, in response to requests from rural poor people, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), the largest nongovernmental organization in Bangladesh, initiated a primary education program with experimental schools in 22 villages. By late 1989, the program had expanded to 2,500 schools, and another 2,000 schools were expected to open…