Why eat green cucumbers at the time of dying? Women's literacy and development in Nepal

In many developing countries, literacy has been seen as the key to 'women's development' resulting in a proliferation of women's literacy programmes run by both Governments and Non Governmental Organisations. Nepal is one such example of a country where literacy programmes have been used extensively as an entry point for involving women in development activities. The author's experience of working in this field in Nepal has made her question what impact these literacy programmes have on women's lives: in particular, she has wondered whether there is a strong link between gaining literacy skills and change, and whether the kind of literacy programmes currently provided meet women's perceived needs. This research is intended to provide new insights into why and how women's literacy programmes work - from the participants' point of view - thereby exploring future directions for such programmes, as well as new research approaches.