Kenya Kenya 2 Kenya 3 The Dem. Literacy rates in northwestern Rajasthan state, where the Meos live, were among the lowest in the country and estimated at 56 per cent for men. Across India, girls are discriminated against when it comes to schooling thanks to patriarchal attitudes so that the average national literacy rate for women is 37 per cent against 64 per cent for men.
Gender discrimination is worse in the rural areas.
The Imam's dilemma was compounded by the fact that his villagers, in the state's Bharatpur district, firmly believed that the Hindi-medium education offered in local government schools was unsuitable for Meo girls because the language was associated with Hindus. Four years on, results are tangible in the 82 per cent literacy rates among boys and 57 per cent among girls in the 5 to 14 age group. Impressive, considering that when the project began, the rates were 28 per cent for boys and 11 per cent for girls. Officials charged with implementing government education programmes in the district never cared enough to reach out and find solutions,'' said Bordia, who once served the central government as education secretary. A broad agreement arrived at, advertisements were placed for Urdu teachers.