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The countrywide literacy campaign that began in the nineties saw the active participation of thousands of women, who came out in large numbers to learn to read and write, and who remained among the most resilient of readers for the years to come. For them, the literacy campaign also provided a space, both metaphorical and literal, where they could come and talk about issues of concern to them, and where they could begin to feel that they were not alone. This move out from within the four walls of the home proved enormously empowering for women, allowing them to address hitherto taboo issues such as domestic violence.
The story of a literacy primer in which Rosamma, an Andhra woman, read about a husband who drank and then beat his wife because he had drunk away his wages and she had no money to feed him and the family, is by now well known. As she read the story, Rosamma realized that what she was reading mirrored her own life. She showed the story to a friend and neighbour, who showed it to another, and as it spread, it created what became a major campaign against alcohol consumption and against the violence that it engendered.
The literacy campaign also focused on a number of activities that were aimed at changing women's self image. Thus football, cycling, karate classes were also introduced and these proved enormously popular. In Puddukotai in Tamil Nadu, between 50-60,000 women learnt cycling in one district.
While there is still a long way to go to achieve 100 per cent literacy for women, there is little doubt that the figures on literacy are changing and more and more women are beginning to learn and become literate.
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