Women’s Literacy Campaign

In 2006, SHARE began a three-year literacy project with women from agricultural cooperatives in Jiquilisco, Chalchuapa and Atiquizaya. These literacy circles were a space for a woman from the community, who had been trained by the Ministry of Education, to teach illiterate women in the cooperative how to read and write. Completion of the program would give the women the equivalent of a sixth grade education.
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In the process of learning to read and write, the literacy circles also focused on gender issues. This led to greater discussion and analysis of the situation of women in El Salvador as well as reflection on the women’s own personal histories. With time, it became quite obvious that many of the previously illiterate women were taking more leadership roles in their cooperatives and communities once they had the capacity to read and write. Upon graduation, the women were given a diploma from the Ministry of Education that would allow them to continue their education at any public school, which is exactly what many of the women were able to do.