Belinda,

I can't speak for the Afghani women. But my interviews
showed that women found that being able to read, write
and calculate gave them a sense of independence. Some
said that after years of feeling invisible in the
cities, they felt as if they were now visible and able
to negotiate the city.


> I agree that literacy alone does not equal power.

> However, being able to read, write, and calculate

> can give these women the strength and ability to act

> * to someday effect change within their communities.

>  They become great role models for their children.

<<

People will effect change only if they see a need for
it. Prior to becoming literate, are we assuming that
these women were not strong or effective? I can't and
don't make that assumption. In fact in a number of
Indian villages and slums (I believe Lalita Ramdas
also had an article about this in the 1990s) literacy
was seen as useful ONLY if it was linked to
employment. Literacy is as powerful as the people who
acquire it, see it to be. A number of women I've
talked to said they felt the need to be literate when
they moved to the city slums from their villages. So,
whilst I see literacy as the first step towards
awareness and a necessary tool for development,
sometimes it can be hard convincing everyone that it
is, especially if they don't see a direct need for it.
I visited a Khan's house in Pakistan. It was a wealthy
household with a huge house, lots of land and three
generations living under the same roof. The difference
between the men and women, in terms of clothes,
health, hygiene and education was marked. The girls
were obviously being kept until they were married off.
The men went to the nearest city and wore fancy
clothes and had impeccable hairdos with gel etc. The
young boys were driven to the city school. The girls?
at home. It has taken years to convince this family to
build a school (in the back near the buffalo shed) for
the girls living in that compound!! 


> They have the potential to change their future. 

> That, in itself, is pretty powerful.  I guess it

> depends on how you define power.  If literacy is

> enabling these women to help their families and

> their community, and providing an opportunity for

> them to learn everything they can I think that's

> pretty powerful.  These women seem to be strong and

> resilient.  Do they see themselves as strong and

> resilient?  Can you speak to their self image?  How

> do they see themselves?<<


It's difficult to generalise. I've seen cases where
women who are not literate but are seen as extremely
wise. Often thesde women can act as social mobilisers
to get communities and women mobilised into
participating in development. I've had women who even
after an education are happy to make rotis and not
venture out of their homes. They have the potential to
change their future to what they see as powerful, as
valid as relevant to their society. 

I've seen women with sexy lingerie and make up like
Bollywood stars (who are quite adored in the sub
continent) under their burqas and I've had colleagues
(Irani and Afghani) who asked me why I thought their
burqas made our American and French colleagues
uncomfortable. The strange thing is for all this talk
of power, there have been and still are quite a few
women in politics in South Asia and not as many in
say, Europe or America. I don't of course see this as
an indicator of the disempowerment of American women,
but it is curious!

I may not have answered your question, but then I
don't think there is a simple answer to it. 

Warm regards,
Ujwala


	
		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 
http://mail.yahoo.com