Gender Disparity in Literacy in India

Abstract

India has the dubious distinction of having one of the world’s highest rates of adult illiteracy. According to the 2011 Census of India, the overall rate of literacy is 73 per cent. But breaking up the national average reveals that while the rate of literacy for men is 80.9 per cent, for women it is 64.6 per cent. This means that more than one-fourth of the country’s population is still illiterate. And within that figure, nearly one-fifth of males are illiterate compared with more than one-third of females. That there is a slow rate of growth of female literacy compared with male literacy is a matter of grave concern. Despite the number of efforts made at national and international levels, there exist a significant number of illiterate women in society, a disturbing factor for all development efforts. Female literacy is important as it is a force multiplier for the social development of a country. Illiteracy retards the development of an individual, society and the country. Literacy plays a significant role in reducing gender inequality. The purpose of the article is to map and analyse gender disparity in literacy across the states and union territories (UTs) of India and indicate future projections of levels of female literacy.