In Brazil, for instance, illiterate women have an average of 6.5 children, whereas those with secondary education have 2.5 children. The child of a Zambian mother with a primary education has a 25 per cent better chance of survival than a child of a mother with no education. Literacy also gives women a voice. In Bangladesh, women with a secondary education are three times more likely to attend a political meeting than are women with no education. Micro-credit schemes modelled on the Grameen Bank have literally revolutionized the lives of thousands of poor rural women.
Ownership is a vital element of such programmes.
When a group of fisherwomen in Benin decided they needed numeracy before literacy, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization adapted educational material using symbols insteads of words to describe goods and services. . Many non-governmental organizations promote women s issues and gender sensitivity. Associations of University Women from Nepal to New Zealand run initiatives to provide educational opportunities for teenage mothers, demystify economics or provide training in mediation skills to reduce domestic violence. . Finally, female leadership is an emerging theme in education. The Women s Institute in Chile promotes educational activities to enable women to take an active public role and to deal with social and political issues.