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Women in rural Ghana have been at disadvantage in all aspects of life since time immemorial. Cultural stereotypes have always kept women in the background or at best at the fringes of socio-economic and political activities. The patriarchal cultural stereotypes have been a barrier to the education of girl children in rural Ghana. In most cases the boy child is sent to school and the girl is either denied that opportunity or covertly and overtly encouraged to drop out of school to learn home chores in preparation for marriage or motherhood. This cultural practice does not only militate against women’true participation in socio-economic and political activities but also makes them dependent on men. It is assumed that lack of basic education ie illiteracy is a serious hindrance to rural women’s initiative and participation in the country’s development and without bridging this cultural divide the country’s development might continue to be hindered and slow. The authors used the results of a qualitative research approach to validate the above assumption. Six hundred rural women from three regions in Ghana were randomly selected to participate in the exploratory study. The study found out that lack of basic education among rural women is a great hindrance to Ghana’s socio-economic and political advancement. The paper therefore recommends an effective national literacy drive to empower women for effective participation in the country’s development.