Africana Periodical Literature 
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 Periodical article |
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| Title: | Illiteracy and poverty among women: the case of Senegal |
| Author: | Mbow, Penda |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Periodical: | UNESCO-Africa: Quarterly Journal of the Regional Office in Dakar |
| Issue: | 6 |
| Pages: | 21-25 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Senegal |
| Subjects: | literacy women |
| Abstract: | According to the 1985 United Nations Report, the rate of illiteracy in Africa was estimated at more than 50 percent. For Senegal, adult illiteracy was up to 63 percent for men and 81 percent for women. Illiteracy results from a combination of sociocultural, psychological, political and economic factors. Women, who constitute 52 percent of Senegal's population, are most affected by the present degradation of the education system. Their needs in terms of literacy and training are proportional to the need to integrate them into the country's economic and social structures. In general, the relationship between women's status and illiteracy is reflected in health, family planning, problems such as infanticide and abortion, and the environment. Only literacy and access to information can help challenge the constraints that severely affect women. Since the colonial era, women have had fewer opportunities than men to gain access to education, notwithstanding the fact that in their daily life, they indicate a wish or need for education. The need to develop literacy can be perceived through numerous actions. However, with some 700 centres, according to the Senegalese Directorate for Literacy and Basic Education, there is a problem of coordination. Note, ref. |