International Journal of Gender & Women's Studies

Trends and Factors affecting Female Literacy-An inter-district study of Maharashtra
Aparna Samudra

Abstract
Education has always been recognized as a powerful tool to empower the marginalized sections of any society. In developing country like India where the fruits of economic growth are being reaped it has also been realized that the growth become inclusive and the benefits shared by all. Female literacy rate is viewed as one of the effective tool that can be used to percolate the benefits of the developed society to the women population and in turn empower the women of the country. The paper examines the trends in female literacy in Maharashtra which is one of the most developed states of India. The paper uses the data of last two census in India and calculates the trends in Female literacy in all the districts of Maharashtra, gap in female and male literacy in these districts and also identifies the socio-economic factors that have a significant impact on female literacy in the districts of Maharashtra.

Full Text: PDF