International Women's Day: be bold for change.

To celebrate International Women's Day, and its theme be bold for change, here are six thoughts about women and literacy in Asia.

Since the launch of the Merali University Scholarship Program for Disadvantaged Women in 2010, The Asia Foundation, in partnership with The Merali Foundation, has enabled hundreds of disadvantaged female students, predominantly from underserved rural areas, to successfully pursue undergraduate degrees. This woman is studying in Cambodia.

Women provide many panellists, and a large proportion of the audience, at the annual Ubud Writers Festival on Bali.

Lack of access to education can be one of the biggest challenges women face in Afghanistan. See here for more details. 

Women who are literate have far more opportunities than those who are illiterate.  Check out Read Global: Inspiring Rural Prosperity, which promotes literacy for women, and literacy’s consequent opportunities, in Bhutan, Nepal and India    

You can't promote literacy if you don't have literate teachers. Basa Pilipinas (Read Philippines) is USAID/Philippines’ flagship basic education project in support of the Philippine Government’s early grade reading program. 

Hurrah! Most university students in Malaysia are female.  See here for more details.