Women Literacy Project Literacy levels in Ladakh are generally low, more so when it comes to women's.  Under the sponsorship of the International Association for Liberal Religious Women (IALRW), The Women's Literacy Project was inaugurated.  Today, the project has grown to cover eight villages around Leh as well as Alchi and Narula. Looking back ... In the winter of 1997, an extraordinary event took place in the village of Stakmo.  Three women (Tsewang Dolma, Kunzes Dolma & Tsewang Dolma?) were sent word that the women of Stakmo village were ready for a meeting with them.  At the gathering, they were given a list of 33 women, who wanted to learn to read and write. After four years of continuous correspondence, Tsewang Dolma's dream of The Women's Literacy Project for Ladakh was finally taking shape.  It had all started in 1993 at the IALRW Annual Conference held at Bangalore.  A chance meeting led to MIMC submitting its first proposal for a literacy project for women in Ladakh. The three Dolmas and the Stakmo women agreed on a teacher, the timing of the classes and the suspension of classes during the sowing season of June and the harvest season of October.  The Stakmo Center of the Women's Literacy Project started classes with students as young as 14-year-old Diskit, a school drop-out to a 60-year-old lady keen on reading and writing the Bodyig local script.  There were also many nuns.  Young Diskit went on to join formal school after 3 years of learning at the Stakmo Centre.  In the 1999 elections, the Stakmo students proudly signed their names while casting their votes, instead of the usual thumb-prints they had used for so long. By 2005, they knew enough to read price tags, make their own telephone calls and shopping lists. In 2005, the women thought long and hard, and since they had benefited from the program, decided that this be made available to the women in the Housing Colony of Leh.  So the Stakmo Center was formally shifted to the Housing Colony, Leh in November 2006. Ms. Tsewang Dolma describes the change in Stakmo with a smile.  “In the village gatherings, the women are usually shy and never articulate their opinions.  But now they have a lot of concern for community issues and they stand up and speak.”