More women are illiterate in rural areas compared to urban areas, and a larger number of older women are illiterate compared to younger women. The majority of countries in the region are committed to combatting female illiteracy, and many regularly conduct wide-scale campaigns and other concerted efforts to address this serious problem. Many of these initiatives have been successful in reducing rural female illiteracy in the past two decades. Compiled From Country Papers. Primary school education for both boys and girls is compulsory by law in many countries of the region.
Education provided by governmental primary and secondary schools is often free of charge.
As a result, there has been a significant increase in the enrollment of girls in primary and secondary school, and in some countries, there are more girls than boys enrolled at both levels. However, data from most countries indicates that tradition still dictates that girls do not go to school, but rather, remain at home to marry early and undertake household and agricultural tasks. Thus, girls are less likely to enroll in schools than boys, and the drop-out rate for girls is visibly higher, especially at the primary level. This is mainly attributed to economic necessity and stronger conservative traditions, as well as the limited number of schools at the village level, which strengthens the reluctance of parents to send their girls to distant educational facilities.