Women and literacy in rural Mali: a study of the socio-economic impact of participating in literacy programs in four villages

Abstract

This article describes a study assessing the socio-economic impact of participation in literacy programs on women in rural Mali. The study found that lives of literate women in the communities studied differed little from their nonliterate counterparts. Despite the presence of literacy programs in the villages, it was difficult for women to become literate, and women who had obtained literacy skills rarely used them. The author argues that subtle ideological forces in the communities made it difficult for literacy to bring about socio-economic change in women’s lives. Rather, ‘women’s literacy’ had been appropriated into the prevailing male-dominant socio-political culture. The study indicates that simply providing literacy skills may not guarantee positive consequences for women in certain contexts.