Mengistie, T.A. (2020) ‘Challenges facing women’s empowerment through adult education: The case of Ethiopia’s integrated functional adult education program’, Asian Women, 36(4), pp. 85–112.
The author commenced by defining ‘women empowerment’, and according to him, women empowerment is a fundamental issue that is not an end by itself but a means to an end. The outcome of empowerment is aimed at equipping the majority of marginalized women to gain control over their lives and acquire the valuable resources and basic rights that will enable them to have equal participation in development agendas. On the other hand, women lack access to education in many parts of the world. Data provided by UNESCO is reiterated by the document and accordingly, 757 million adults were illiterate in the world, and among these 63% of them were women. There are multiple socio-cultural causes contributing to women’s illiteracy in Ethiopia. Moreover, poor access to formal education and women’s lower participation rates in formal education contribute to the high illiteracy rate in the country.
With the aim of reducing the illiteracy rate, the government of Ethiopia has taken different measures. Among this enactment of the Integrated Functional Adult Education program, a two-year training program for adults between the age of 15-60, which is implemented in coordination with the agriculture, health, education, and social affairs sector is the prominent one. However, there are multiple challenges that limit the objective of the program, particularly in relation to women’s empowerment. The author indicated that Ethiopian women are dominating in a very low-level income-generating activities and shoulder household duties. For example, the majority of women in Ethiopia engage in agricultural activities which demand intensive Labour and time. However, their return from the activity is very low. Thus, their insignificant benefit from their own efforts which in turn affected their economic empowerment affected women’s participation in literacy activities.
With an aim of appraising challenges against women empowerment through the Integrated Functional Adult Education Program, the author used the constructivist paradigm which involves a qualitative research approach. A case study is used to investigate contextualized contemporary phenomena within specified boundaries. Purposive and snowball sampling is employed to select study participants, and accordingly, 12 women, who had graduated from the IFAE program with good classroom participation records were selected and participated in the study. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect the data.
According to the finding of this study, there are multiple causes affecting women’s empowerment in adult literacy programs. Accordingly, economic barriers and lack of time are identified as the first challenge. Women in the study setting were hindered from accessing literacy programs due to their engagement in daily subsistence. Lack of time is indicated as the constraint against women’s participation in literacy works. Mostly, women’s engagement in labor-intensive and time taking activities inhibited them from participating in various programs that would facilitate their empowerment. Lack of political will and coordination from the government is indicated as the second factor affecting women’s participation in the literacy program. Accordingly, though the national adult education strategy and implementation guidelines stipulated government responsibility clearly, its practical implementation is limited. Moreover, lack of awareness on the part of women, patriarchal ideologies, social norms, and beliefs, are affecting women’s empowerment. Thus the author recommended that due attention shall be given by the government and other stakeholders to strengthen women’s empowerment through adult training.
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