Did you know that nearly 800 million – that’s one in every six – adults worldwide are unable to read and write? Two thirds of them are women.
On Friday 16 September (from 10am), Scottish Refugee Council will be celebrating literacy, language and learning with refugee and asylum seeking women at our International Literacy Day Women’s Morning.
The Refugee Women’s Strategy Group – contributing to their communities
Aptly for us, this year’s theme for UNESCO International Literacy Day is ‘Literacy for Peace’. The Refugee Women’s Strategy Group (RWSG) is an inspirational group of refugee and asylum seeking women who meet to discuss and identify the issues they face in their daily lives here in Scotland with decision-makers. In our work with the RWSG, we hear time and time again about their desire to contribute. More contact hours of English classes, more practical support to navigate employability services, more affordable childcare provision, the right to work; these women want to use their skills and knowledge to contribute to their communities and our future.
Literacy – not just about reading and writing – it’s about empowerment
The group are empowered and confident, and they are using their knowledge and experience to advocate for improved rights, awareness and access to services for other women like themselves, piecing their lives back together in Scotland. Literacy is not just about opening a book and knowing how to read or picking up a pencil and writing a story; it is about empowerment and equal opportunity.
Learning from one another helping refugee women rebuild their lives
Worldwide, some 67 million children do not attend school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. We are fortunate that in Scotland all children have a basic right to free education, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or religion. But inequalities in literacy do still exist, even here. Not all asylum seeking children in our schools are accessing the level of support they need to realise their potential among contemporaries most of whom have the advantage of uninterrupted schooling and English language.
Among adults too, funding for ESOL provision for asylum seekers is steadily dripping dry across the UK, and, most draining of all, asylum seekers are denied the right to work. The result is a system responsible for a demoralising process of deskilling as opposed to learning and productivity. The problem is particularly acute for women, who are more likely to have childcare responsibilities.
Literacy for peace in the context of our work with refugee women is about celebrating empowerment and mutual learning. With their different backgrounds and experiences, we can all learn from refugee women as they learn from us and one other, so we are better able to support them to rebuild their lives in the relative peace of our communities.
