About half of Indian women above the age of 15 continue to be illiterate. Inaction in promoting adult literacy is foregoing significant gains that can be made with simple interventions. This article studies the impact of an adult literacy programme (ALP) on women from the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) in India. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design, we show that the benefits of this ALP go beyond the acquisition of literacy skills, to impact the personal and public lives of its participants positively. We provide evidence that the programme participants have improved self-image, increased mobility, changed attitudes towards domestic violence, better interaction with their children and are more engaged in the social and political life of the village. The programme design could provide insight into policymaking for adult education.

中文翻译：

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成人扫盲计划对妇女个人和公共生活的影响

大约一半的 15 岁以上的印度妇女仍然是文盲。在促进成人识字方面的不作为使通过简单的干预措施可以取得的显着成果变得遥不可及。本文研究成人扫盲计划 (ALP) 对印度北方邦 (UP) 妇女的影响。使用顺序解释性混合方法研究设计，我们表明这种 ALP 的好处不仅仅是获得识字技能，还积极影响其参与者的个人和公共生活。我们提供的证据表明，项目参与者改善了自我形象，增加了流动性，改变了对家庭暴力的态度，更好地与孩子互动，并更多地参与了村庄的社会和政治生活。