I

Illiteracy usually refers to the inability to read or write. In terms of international development, it is also relevant for human rights, poverty, governance, and health, and is linked to questions of livelihoods, gender, and empowerment In 1978, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stated that, “a person is illiterate who cannot with understanding both read and write a short statement on his [sic] everyday life” (in Limage, 1999:79). But this approach overlooks different needs of literacy in various contexts. Increasingly, analysts now discuss a plurality of forms of literacy, such as functional literacy (i.e. the purposes for which literacy is needed); and post literacy (i.e. the skills learnt after initial literacy has been achieved).