Seyede Mehrasa Ghoreyshy Rad - Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman

Literacy is the ability to read and write. There is a gender gap in literacy rate. This paper tries to indicate the reasons and factors which affect this gender gap. Man here shares a higher rate and generally women have a lower literacy rate. The necessity of gender is important to everyone and it is influencing all aspects of our lives and societies. The references chosen to help this study were rooted in fields such as History, Culture, Education and Social sciences. For this paper, surveys, articles, papers and studies from certain countries were supplied. More fingers were pointing at Africa, Middle East and Asia. Few statements were covering Europe and North America although African-Americans and Latinos were paid little attention to. Based on the study, basically girls themselves are enthusiastic enough to continue their studies, but discrimination and stereotypes create barriers for them. This paper examined both girls and women, basically from the school age, to the time they are mature, and also it took into account their rights, equality and conditions.

Gender Difference; Literacy; Feminism; Civil Rights; Stereotypes; Female