Windows on life

A new programme helps Kosovo Albanian women to read, write and find jobs

Skander allowed his wife to attend literacy classes on two conditions: that she be accompanied by his mother and that the textbook used in class not be brought home. This is not yet another account of a far-flung Third World community. This happens in Europe - in post-war Kosovo, where the patriarchal, traditional culture continues to isolate Kosovo Albanian women to the extent that large numbers of them are illiterate.

UNESCO, UNICEF and the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society and other women's organizations involved in the literacy programme "Windows on Life" were well aware of the need to overcome such prejudice and fear to reach these illiterate women. "Until mothers themselves become literate and develop a positive attitude to learning, discrimination against girls will not disappear," says Ola Syla, head of Drita, a women's organization.

Mere participation in the classes which started in mid-2001 was considered from the outset something of an achievement. Today, 2,250 women attend classes, divided into 130 groups, twice or three times a week. Educators are beginning to talk about a "revolution" in these women's lives. Self-confidence and awareness of civil rights issues are growing. "I was very proud of being able to vote in the last elections like everybody else," said one learner, who previously signed her ballot paper with her finger print.

The cornerstone of the literacy programme is its textbook. The UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE), working with a group of women, tailored one to the learners' needs. Adopting a participatory, learner-centred and problem-oriented approach, the textbook seeks to develop learners' communication skills, critical thinking and self-confidence, reading, writing and maths.

Themes such as the family, the body, employment, the environment, childcare, marriage, rights, the media, mothers-in-law, etc., spark off lively discussions in class. Three generations of women learn together, of which some are ethnic minorities, mainly Roma and Ashkalia. "To talk of inter-ethnic dialogue would be going too far," says Ulrike Hanemann, a UIE consultant. "The wounds of the war have not healed yet."

And afterwards? The young women dream of jobs while the older women are more interested in acquiring practical skills for everyday life: cooking, hairdressing and sewing. The women's organizations seek to link the post-literacy courses with development projects. One such project is training the women to run their own early childhood centre.

The long-term solution, according to Hanemann, is that this small-scale course gives way to government-run lifelong learning programmes for out-of-school youth and adults. The windows on life must not close once more, says Hanemann.

Contacts: U. Hanemann and M. Elfert, UIE, Hamburg;
E-mail: u.hanemann@unesco.org
and m.elfert@memo.unesco.org

Education Today, Executive Office, Education Sector, UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy - 75352 Paris 07 SP - France - Tel: 33 1 45 68 21 27 - Fax: 33 1 45 68 56 26/27
E:mail: t.murtagh@unesco.org