OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO LEARNING: WOMEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

For the overall growth of any nation, it is important that both men and women of that country are educated but sadly the global female literary figures depict a very sad picture. The female literacy rate is quite low worldwide. In South Asia there exists huge gender gap with low literacy of females. In countries where over all literacy rates are comparatively low, male/female and urban/rural disparities are also large. Women's literacy is the crucial importance in addressing wider issues of gender inequality. In a country like India, 70 women are literate for every 100 literate men.The present paper would try to explore how women who have limited access to education worldwide can be benefitted by distance education. Women who are full time house wives, who have never had access to formal education or had to give up school at early stages of their lives etc can take to distance education since it allows them to sit at home and study for a programme without jeopardizing their marriages or abandon their children.The paper would focus on the education sector in J&K which has remained one of the worst hit sectors and how distance education can help women seek education who are living in this conflict-hit area and have no access to education. Distance education can also help streamline the education sector. This will certainly help in nation building and may also serve as an instrument for development and lead to empowerment and social upliftment of women in Jammu and Kashmir.