What are the consequences of illiteracy among women?

Answer 1

Female illiteracy has several fundamentally serious consequences, especially in the Third World and developing countries. It results in women being held back from achieving their full potential and not being able to make progress towards equality- they are unable to study or follow courses of further education, and often cannot get jobs either other than very menial ones. Sometimes it renders them unable to undertake even the simplest everyday tasks, such as shopping or doing housekeeping work, as they are unable to read the labels on packaged food or domestic products- thus they have to be accompanied by their husbands or male relatives when they do these chores. In underdeveloped nations, where women are regarded as inferior to men or treated as their chattels, many men oppose female literacy programmes, because this would be a step towards the emancipation of women and provide them with a means of escaping from lives of domestic drudgery and servitude. Perhaps the most fundamentally serious consequence of female illiteracy is in the field of health, hygiene and Birth Control. In poor countries where population growth needs to be strictly controlled, advice leaflets and contraceptives are frequently distributed to women, either by their own government or by Western aid agencies. But if they can't read, they can't understand what the leaflets say about the consequences of having too many children, both on their own health and on the nation's economy- so often in frustration they just throw the literature away, or ask their husbands to read it for them. Some men try to help their wives, though many don't- they tell them that such public information is not important and not to worry about it. It is in their interests that their womenfolk remain tied to hearth & home, often pregnant and restricted by the demands of feeding an ever-increasing family. Thus the populace continues to grow, making both the families themselves and the nation they live in poorer. Wives and mothers are also often responsible for safeguarding the health and welfare of their families- but if they are illiterate, they can't understand public health literature about basic sanitation, how to source clean water, how to keep disease at bay, and so on. This in turn leads to the spread of illness, infection, and a high mortality rate. So female literacy is a fundamental key step towards improving living conditions in the developing world, and towards female emancipation and equality in the world as a whole.

Answer 2

Illiteracy among women can limit access to education, job opportunities, and healthcare. It can also contribute to economic inequality and hinder empowerment and participation in social and political activities. Additionally, illiteracy can perpetuate cycles of poverty and impact overall societal development.