Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Crawley (Labour) on Monday, 21 April 2008.

Iraq: Female Education

Question: What is their response to the latest figures published by the United Nations which suggest that the number of illiterate women in Iraq has increased from 2 per cent in the 1970s and 1980s to 27 per cent today.

Answer: The UK Government share the concerns about gender disparities as well as general lack of access for children to education in Iraq. In March this year, the Department for International Development announced contributions to the UN's Children Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), totalling £5 million. These contributions will support the provision of emergency learning spaces and school equipment, rehabilitation of education facilities, and transportation for children to school, as well as meeting other priority needs among vulnerable Iraqis. This support forms part of DfID's overall humanitarian contributions for Iraq, totalling £147 million since 2003. DfID has not seen the UN figures the noble Baroness quotes on female literacy in Iraq. The UNICEF report of last year estimated that overall literacy rates may have been around 74 per cent in 2006, compared to 52 per cent in 1977 and 72 per cent in 1987 following the education campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s. The report did not give figures for female literacy rates in the 1970s and 1980s but estimated they were around 64 per cent in 2006.

Secondary information