Women's illiteracy is higher in Iraq than men, and work and the Internet are the most prominent driv

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[size=52]Women's illiteracy is higher in Iraq than men, and work and the Internet are the most prominent drivers of education[/size]

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2024-09-08
Today, September 8, the world celebrates International Literacy Day, at a time when the illiteracy rate in Iraq is approaching 12.7 percent, and this rate is higher among females (21 percent) than males (12 percent), and in light of the plans drawn up, illiteracy rates are expected to drop to their lowest levels during the next decade, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.[/size]
[size=45]International Literacy Day was first celebrated in 1967 to remind policymakers, practitioners and the public of the importance of literacy in creating a more literate, just, peaceful and sustainable society.[/size]
[size=45]According to the UNESCO website, literacy is a basic life requirement. Knowledge is like water and air, and a person cannot live without them. Therefore, literacy is the foundation that enables people to acquire knowledge and skills.[/size]
[size=45]Despite the importance of literacy and what it represents in building the human being and societies and their development and advancement, studies tell us that millions around the world still suffer under the burden of ignorance and lack basic reading and writing skills.[/size]
[size=45]Shafaq News Agency reviews the story of an Iraqi mother who proves that education knows no age or social circumstances, and that will and determination can achieve success in facing challenges.[/size]
[size=45]Ruqayyah Ali from Babil Governorate (37 years old) is a mother of three children. She was unable to read and write, but she decided to eliminate her illiteracy to achieve her dream of learning to read and write, and to be able to follow up on her children’s lessons and educate them, presenting an inspiring model for women.[/size]
[size=45]Ruqayyah grew up in difficult living conditions, which did not give her the opportunity to receive her education in a normal way due to the economic situation that her family was going through, which forced her father not to register her with her brothers and sisters in school, but Ruqayyah’s dream of education remained even after she got married and had children.[/size]
[size=45]“After my children entered primary school, I started having difficulty following their lessons, which gave me an incentive to achieve my dream,” Ruqayya told Shafaq News Agency. “So I turned to YouTube to watch videos that provide content for teaching reading and writing. I started teaching letters through those videos, and a teacher who was close to our home also helped me with that.”[/size]
[size=45]“After that, I decided to take the external sixth grade exam, and during the exams I noticed that there were many women who were similar to me, and the Internet also helped them learn to read and write. After passing the sixth grade, I decided to continue my studies and applied for the external exam for the third middle school, and then the sixth preparatory school, and I succeeded in both after seeking the help of private teachers. My ambition will not stop at this point, but I am currently seeking to enter college and obtain a bachelor’s degree.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the educational expert, Haider Al-Moussawi, points out that “the educational and teaching reality after 2003 and until now has been clearly changing in Iraq. It is different from what it was previously, with illiteracy rising to 35 percent or more in the mid-nineties of the last century, as a result of previous circumstances that imposed a certain reality on the Iraqi people, including the decline of the economy, which cast its shadow over education.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Moussawi continued his talk to Shafaq News Agency: “But after 2003 and the economic change and the rise in the standard of living in Iraq, there was a trend towards schools and the dropout rate from schools decreased. In fact, it is currently noticeable that the percentage of holders of higher degrees has increased, while the bachelor’s degree has become widely spread.”[/size]
[size=45]He confirms, “There is also an increase in the rates of turnout for external examinations, whether for primary or secondary school, and there is also a resort to evening study at universities in numbers equal to morning study, and these indications confirm the decline in illiteracy, in addition to the measures and campaigns carried out by the government and the Ministry of Education to receive school dropouts.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “The government’s approach in the issue of appointment or opening certain job opportunities is to focus on holders of certificates, at least an elementary certificate, and this gives an incentive to male or female citizens to seek education, while social media and electronic development have given another incentive to education to communicate with the world.”[/size]
[size=45]However, former member of the Parliamentary Education Committee, Raad Al-Maksousi, believes that “the reality of education in Iraq is deteriorating, as successive governments have not paid adequate attention to Iraq’s scientific front. Rather, there is a deterioration in the scientific and educational reality and a clear decline for reasons including the lack of school buildings that are suitable for students.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maksousi adds, “The educational and teaching staff is at a level that is not appropriate for raising generations. The situation has reached the point where some of the teaching staff need to be literate, and cannot write a single sentence without spelling mistakes. Others have not received courses in teaching methods to convey the idea to the students.”[/size]
[size=45]He stressed, “Therefore, there is a need to pay attention to building schools, preparing educational and teaching cadres, caring for students, printing books, providing stationery, and so on.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding illiteracy statistics in Iraq, the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, explains that “there are no new statistics, considering that the results of the socio-economic survey that will end soon will provide indicators of the reality of illiteracy and other details, but previous indicators indicate that there is an illiteracy rate approaching 12.7 percent in all of Iraq for those aged 15 years and above, and this rate is higher among females, 21 percent, than males, 12 percent.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi told Shafaq News Agency, “This percentage (12.7 percent) has decreased from 10 years ago, when it reached 20 percent. This is due to the measures taken by the government in the past years until state institutions became completely free of illiteracy. There are also centers that were opened earlier to educate the elderly by the Literacy Department of the Ministry of Education. In light of the plans drawn up, it is expected that illiteracy rates will decrease to their lowest levels during the next decade.”[/size]
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