Learning to read and write as adults

These women find themselves unable to interact freely and confidently when in public, for one major reason – The inability to read and write. It is therefore not a coincidence that the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) Three (3) has beamed its searchlight on promoting gender equality and empowering women with particular reference […]

These women find themselves unable to interact freely and confidently when in public, for one major reason – The inability to read and write. It is therefore not a coincidence that the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) Three (3) has beamed its searchlight on promoting gender equality and empowering women with particular reference to the elusiveness of education to girls in some regions.
The Home Front found out how uneducated women (products of girl-child illiteracy) who have taken the bull by the horn and enrolled in an Adult Education Centre in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna are faring and the challenges they faced or are still facing as a result of this giant step.
The Encarta English dictionary defines the word ‘illiterate’ as an offensive term meaning not able to read or write; having or showing little or no knowledge of a particular subject; and full of or making many basic errors in the use of language. It seems the above definitions spawn the major reasons why the women who spoke to Home Front decided to go to school.
Mrs. Cynthia (not real name), a 36-year-old woman told the  Home Front it is a major problem when a woman remains uneducated and narrated how she used to watch her husband go out every day without her and later come home to share his experiences with her. When she asked him why they could not go out together he gave the excuse that his friends do not take their friends along with them. “At such times I felt left out,” she said. “I felt that it was because he thought I would disgrace him.”
That was the turning point in her life. Although, a housewife and a business woman, without education she discovered that she could remain ignorant for the rest of her life. It was then she woke up to the occasion and enrolled in an adult education centre starting from Primary Two. Today she is in JSS1.
She charged all women to go to school. According to her sometimes a man could send text messages to his girlfriend and be comfortable knowing a his wife cannot read it if she were to check his phone. Also, she added that in this age where the world has gone digital and computers are found everywhere, being uneducated is even more disadvantageous. She opined that no man would completely stop his wife from going to school even if from the beginning the idea is discouraged. “You have to pay the price for you to get what you are looking for,” she concluded.
Mrs. Jumoke, another student of the school, revealed the pains of being uneducated:  “ It was difficult for me to speak freely and socialize with people. I was so embarrassed  when  I was asked to read at public gathering one day. It hurt me a lot  because my husband  was a leader in that particular group and I was unable to support him. But now I am able to mix up in public, at least with the little I have learnt so far I am able to relate with people and I know my husband respects me more for that.”
Jumoke’s story is not a single story: Many uneducated women probably shrink from the mere sight of a book or a group of English-speaking folks. But you find such uneducated women quickly blending into a group of people speaking pidgin English because no one would pay attention to their curt phrases.        
A peculiar case was that of Mrs. Bintu (not real name) who told the Home Front her pathetic story: She got married at a very young age when she was ignorant and because of this was always uncomfortable in the company of people. When she decided to go to school, her husband disapproved although he had attained a certain level in his education that secured him a humble job. He thus refused to support her financially but she was later able to source for fund and registered in an adult education centre. “When I discovered there was a school that did not require me to wear any school uniform, I was so excited,” she said.
However Bintu began to have problems at home when she began to express her opinions strongly on important matters. “My husband began to say he wished he had not allowed me to enroll in the school because I was becoming too opinionated,” she revealed.
The story of Bintu is just one among many others. Her husband felt intimidated by the exposure she was getting. She excitedly told narrated the excursions the school organized. It seemed these experiences opened her mind to the limitless knowledge she could acquire and what she was capable of doing. However she made sure she still took care of her home and children despite her schooling.
Some of the volunteer teachers of the school spoke to this reporter  about their experiences with their students: Mrs. Samaila John narrated the trying episode of one of her elite students whose dressing alone gave people the impression that she could read and write, but ‘alas’ she could not. When she was asked to write in a gathering and she could not, the people present were shocked. That day she cried and avoided going to the gathering. But the experience opened her mind to the need for education.
The head teacher, Mr. Joshua, recalled the case of a young lady whose fiancé had promised to enroll her in school after their wedding. However, after the wedding, his mother kicked vehemently against the idea and threatened to leave their home and “go and die in the village.” “ Why should she go to school while you yourself are not educated,” she had argued. This threat succeeded in making the husband change his mind while his wife wept for the lost opportunity.          
The adult education centres have succeeded in giving hope to many uneducated women (and men). They hold special classes for those who have never been to school (this is the nursery class) and teach them beginning from alphabets while those that have attained a certain level begin from the primary or secondary level.
If Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenage girl who was shot by the Taliban (on 9 October 2012) just for going to school still has the heart to forge ahead with her education, then women must realize that nothing should stop them from acquiring knowledge while they take care of their homes. The experiences of these women should serve as a testimony to many that education is not just a means to secure a prestigious job or build a career, but that it develops the mind such that an individual is able to be more productive and relevant to her society and the world at large.