Passage: As in case of absolute number of illiterates, the actual numberof illiterate females is also increasing with time and faster than the number of male illiterates. More so in the backward states, in the rural areas, and among scheduled castes andscheduled tribes. The correlation between female illiteracy and infant mortality is equally clear. It is found that mortality was highest in the case of illiterate mothers both in urban and rural areas but much higher in the latter. 

Inference: The illiteracy rate is higher among females as compared to that of males.