The educational gaps faced by rural women in Santander continue to pose major challenges. These persist due to disparities in access, retention, quality, and academic performance, as well as difficulties related to school infrastructure, technological availability, and government support.
According to UN Women, women in these areas represent a quarter of the world’s population. However, challenges in poverty and inequality persist.
This is evidenced by the country’s illiteracy rate, a reality that Santander is no stranger to. According to the Observatory on Women, Gender Equality, and Society (OMEGS) in its bulletin Gender and Territory: Educational Gaps for Rural Women in Santander, produced by the Industrial University of Santander in partnership with the Government of Santander, by 2022, 9 out of every 100 women over the age of 15 living in rural areas could not read or write, compared to 2.7% of the population living in urban areas. Santander also shows a marked trend. In rural areas, the illiteracy rate is 7.6% for men and 6.7% for women, while in urban areas the illiteracy rate does not exceed 3% for both genders.
This study was conducted by the Population, Environment, and Development Research Groups (GPAD) and Applied Economics.
When breaking down the information, it is relevant to examine the illiteracy rate among rural women by age group in order to identify the most affected cohorts. In 2024, among women aged 15 to 28, the illiteracy rate is more than triple in rural areas than in urban areas. Among women over 60, this rate is also three times higher in rural areas than in urban areas, with the aggravating factor that its incidence is much higher: 21.2% of rural women cannot read or write, compared to 6.4% of women in urban areas,” the Observatory’s report states.
Furthermore, they insist that reducing the illiteracy rate among rural women involves transforming their living conditions, those of their families, and those of their communities, as this empowers them, promotes their autonomy, and allows them to exercise greater control over their environment.
Of the total number of women living in rural areas of the department, more than half do not complete high school. Only 46% attend primary school, while 36% attend secondary school. Higher education is rare among women, with only 2 out of 100 completing university and only 1% obtaining a postgraduate degree.
In contrast, the situation is more favorable in urban areas, where 74% of women complete primary and secondary school and go on to higher levels of education, such as high school, technical school, technical college, university, or graduate school. Nearly 20 out of every 100 women complete university.
By age, the picture remains alarming. In 2024, according to the report, 21.2% of women over 60 in rural areas were illiterate, compared to 6.4% of women in urban areas.
The study warns that reducing illiteracy rates among rural women means transforming their living conditions, those of their families, and those of their communities, as it empowers them, promotes their autonomy, and allows them to exercise greater control over their environment.
“In addition to the gaps in illiteracy rates, it is important to analyze the level of education attained by women as a reflection of the opportunities and limitations they face in their academic process in different ways. The indicator of the level of schooling achieved makes it possible to identify the proportion of people according to their highest level of education attained, evaluate the access of different population groups to education, and provide a diagnosis of the population that should benefit from educational policies,” says the Observatory.
Structural challenges
The high dispersion of territories, long distances between educational centers and homes, socioeconomic conditions, and insufficient physical and technological infrastructure are aspects that become structural challenges to accessing education.
Furthermore, records show that men drop out of school more often than women, which may be related to socially assigned gender roles. According to the Ministry of National Education, in 2023 the intra-annual dropout rate for rural men in Santander was 4.60%, higher than that for rural women (3.5%).
According to the Dane Quality of Life Survey (ECV), the reasons for not attending school differ between men and women. In the case of men, 56.6% report that they must do so because of the need to work, while for women the barriers are household responsibilities, at 31.9%, followed by pregnancy, which accounts for 11.8%.
According to the Observatory’s report, the rural coverage rate, based on gender, shows that men outnumber women in primary and secondary education, but on average, women achieve higher coverage than men.
However, OMEGS emphasizes that although significant progress has been made in reducing illiteracy among rural women in Santander, it is necessary to implement public education policies that will increase the level of education attained.
“A rural woman with better levels of education is a transformative force not only for her own living conditions, but also for those of her families and communities. The challenge is not insignificant: increasing educational levels in rural areas requires investment in infrastructure and connectivity, expansion of educational opportunities, teacher training and education, contextualization of the curriculum, and educational continuity,” concludes the Observatory.
Access to education highlights the territorial gaps and gender disparities that exist in Santander. Although in the city the gross coverage rate exceeds 100% at all levels of education, the situation in rural areas is considerably lower, and decreases as the level of education increases.
According to the OMEGS, ensuring rural women’s access to education requires first addressing the socioeconomic gaps in the territories and their homes. Improving the quality of education in these areas depends, to a large extent, on resolving limitations in basic services such as drinking water, electricity, and transportation, factors that directly affect absenteeism and school dropout rates.
