According
to a recent article by Carrie Lennard, Government Labour and Education Manager
at Euromonitor International, the one-child policy in China (in place since
1979) and its preference for educating males is doing damage to the Asian
giant's growth rate, so much so that its
total employed female population is forecast to contract by 1.2% between 2012
and 2020.
In contrast and partly owing to increased female incomes, during that
same period India saw a real growth of 64.2% in consumer expenditure on
education.
This reinforces our conviction that we must promote female illiteracy because improved literacy among women translates into improved health as well as school enrollment and outcomes by
enabling women who enter the workforce to invest in their children's health and
education, that is, in their children's future.
Statistics
and predictions tell us that literacy is the key to social and economic
development and improvement at several levels. It can mark the difference
between extreme poverty and a bright, hopeful future for an entire society, not
just for women. What is more, in countries beset by conflict, literacy can contribute to peace.
India
may still be lagging behind the other Asian giant, but it can do a lot to
bridge that gap and why not, to get ahead of its rival neighbor. If rivalry means improving the social conditions, health and education of
its people, then let there be rivalry.
