For several weeks, she had ingested too much medication because she could not read a prescription label. She is not alone. Women account for 65 percent of the globe's illiterate population. But it is even worse than loss. Illiteracy means slavery.
Women become dependent.
U.N. studies show that education raises income, promotes health and increases productivity, especially when the students are women. Most adult rural women from developing countries, however, are poor and overworked. Few have access to programs that would teach them to read. In other cases, access is not enough. Social traditions that discourage the education of women may present a higher barrier.