The importance of literacy to empower indigenous women

Lima, March 2023 - In the framework of Women´s Month, we reflect on the fact that the necessary advances have not been made to ensure that all women have the possibility to exercise their basic rights, such as access to education, health, work, etc.

In Peru this is a serious problem that affects, above all, indigenous women, who are the most vulnerable because they do not have access to education, a key tool for the development of their autonomy.

The figures are alarming, since according to the report there are more than half a million indigenous women who cannot read or write. Likewise, more than 40% of indigenous adolescents do not have access to basic education and 20% of this figure is behind in school. Similarly, in the Amazon, 23% of Ashaninka women have never attended school.

Faced with this serious problem, Dispurse Foundation has been fighting poverty through education since 2011 and seeks alliances to increase women's literacy because it believes that investing in their education will change the world. In this effort, Dispurse has signed an agreement with Fe y Alegría, in order to meet the educational demand of young people and adults from vulnerable populations, such as rural and indigenous women in the country.

"This alliance with Fe y Alegría demonstrates the need to rethink education to make it flexible and functional and that it is urgent to continue working on the educational problems of adults, especially women, who are most affected by the lack of education and access to opportunities, which perpetuates the circle of exclusion and vulnerability in their environment," said Malin Ljunggren, Legal representative of Dispurse in Peru.

In this regard, from March 6, with the participation of the Ministry of Education, it is planned to work with at least 150 participants from the Cutervo province in the Cajamarca region, where the facilitators of CEBA Fe y Alegría N°69 will use the FOCUS application, developed by the Dispurse Foundation to teach women to read, write and performmathematical calculations, in addition to the development of other competencies of the initial- intermediate cycle of Alternative Basic Education.

Likewise, Ernesto Cabassa SJ, General Director of Fe y Alegría, mentioned at the signing of the agreement that "there are approximately 9 million people throughout the country who have not completed their basic studies and who do not know how to read or write, which results in a serious problem that Fe y Alegría seeks to fight, aspiring that in the future children and adolescents can obtain a quality education in due time".

On the other hand, Lucila Landeo, Director of the Directorate of Alternative Basic Education of the Ministry of Education, emphasized that "it is important to ensure the educational continuity of people who become literate, otherwise they may forget what they were taught and maintain the educational gap that we need to close", so she invoked support of local and educational authorities.

It should be noted that the Dispurse Foundation has already been working hard in Cajamarca, in the provinces of Cajamarca, San Marcos, San Ignacio and Jaén, where it has also applied its educational proposal for adult literacy with its FOCUS app, hand in hand with public and private organizations and institutions.

Bringing education to populations that have limitations to access formal education, making use of technology earned Dispurse the "ConectaRSE para Crecer 2019" award and being recognized by the Ministry of Education as an Ally for Education.

Finally, it should be noted that Dispurse has developed its basic, digital, functional and critical literacy program in the regions of Apurímac, Huancavelica, Pasco, Junín, Lima, Cusco and La Libertad.