Illiteracy Among Women Drops to 20%
M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab NewsRIYADH, 9 June 2005 — A senior official said yesterday that illiteracy among Saudi women has dropped to less than 20 percent and 95 percent of the country’s young females are currently on the rolls of schools and colleges.
Khaled ibn Abdullah Al-Mashari, deputy minister of education, said there were 2.4 million female students pursuing their studies in nearly 16,000 public schools.
Saudi Arabia, like many Arab countries, has been aggressive in addressing the issue of femal illiteracy. Unlike some others, though, it has been singularly successful.
The government has set a goal for 100% female literacy in nine years’ time and is likely to make it. Already Saudi women outnumber men in universities, and adult education programs are reaching tens of thousands of women annually.
People–Saudis as well as Americans–make a huge mistake if they figure Saudi women are not capable of making their own decisions. Women in Saudi Arabia will soon be driving–and voting.
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