It is a persistent challenge to ensure gender equality in Pakistan. While there has been some positive development in this respect, yet a considerable gap remains in terms of educational opportunities available to both the sexes. Bridging this gap in the field of education is of vital significance as it would lead to empowering women, enhanced economic development and creation of a more inclusive and just society.
There are about 22 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, and among these 12 millions are girls. It means that 2 million more girls than boys are out of school in Pakistan. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey (2023) the overall literacy rate in Pakistan is 62.8 percent. The survey also highlighted that as compared to 73 percent of males, 51.9 percent females were literate.
In the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023, Pakistan has been ranked 142 out of 146 countries. The annual report benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions, one of which is educational attainment. Pakistan’s ranking in the educational attainment dimension was 138th in 2023. The country’s literacy rate was 137th, and its enrolment rates in secondary and tertiary education were 132nd and 104th, respectively.
Such is the dismal status of gender parity in the field of education in Pakistan. Women and young girls in our society are expected to do household chores, to be housewives, to take care of their husbands and to mother their children. Males have a greater role in determining their fate and take the important decisions of their life which includes the decisions as regards their education, marriage, job and their movement outside home. Many women in Pakistan, especially those in rural areas, don’t have the right to choose what is right for them. Owing to these harmful gender dynamics a good number of young age girls in Pakistan are deprived of their right to acquire education, a right which is bestowed upon them by the religious teachings. One of the major challenges in the way of removing gender inequality in education is poverty. The World Bank considers poverty as one of the most important factors that determines whether or not a girl can attend a school or college. The girls in poor families are less likely to attend schools. Their parents, already mired in financial constraints, hesitate to incur any financial burden, no matter how small it is, due to the education of their daughters. To cope with this challenge parents can be incentivized by giving them conditional cash transfers for sending children to school, with a premium on girls. Moreover, providing free meals in schools, especially in girls schools, to students, can also positively contribute in this regard.
Another obstacle widening the gender gap in education is early marriage. According to a report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) 21 percent of girls in Pakistan get married before reaching the age of 18. This raises the female dropout rate as the pressure from society prevents girls from attending school after marriage. The life of girls moves from playing and studying to responsibilities of married life. To protect girls from early marriage we need new laws, which raise the minimum age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18. Besides, there is also a need to strictly implement existing laws such as Article 25A of the Constitution which gives the right to education to all girls between the ages of five to 16.
The security issue also affects gender parity in schools. Girls are harassed on their way to school and in the school. The security concerns of parents increase when the schools are at a distance. Given this, the girls are prevented from attending the school by their family members. The provincial governments will have to take some measures in this respect, such as improving transportation facilities for female students and teachers, as has been done in KPK, and creating a safe environment in schools for female students by building boundary walls around schools.
Cultural norms and conservative attitudes toward gender roles also reduce enrolment and increase the dropout rate of girls from schools. Women are normally expected to prioritize domestic responsibilities like household chores, taking care of family members and child-bearing over their education. They are thought, especially in rural areas, to be in the four walls of the house and their movement outside the house becomes a matter of honour for male members of the family.
Pursuing university level education by females is also discouraged due to conservative mindset in the society as they are believed to become less desirable as wives if they do so. Such thinking of the people is mainly constituted by misinterpretation of Islamic teachings. It is believed by a certain section in society that Islam makes males dominant over females and the latter are bound under the religious teachings to serve their family members inside the four walls of the house and their movement outside the house is restricted. This is a total misconception. Islam gives women the right to take important decisions of their lives themselves. Like males, they also have the right to get an education. The need is to promote the true teachings of Islam in society and remove such cultural norms that hinder girls’ education.
To reduce the gender gap in education, targeted interventions are needed, which include tailored programmes for recently dropped out girls and programmes of literacy for young girls who left education years ago– a literacy, numeracy, and life skill programme would be a more targeted approach for this group. Besides, in order to increase the number of schools, promoting Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), as is done in Punjab in primary education, and expanding it to other levels of education, may yield positive results in terms of enrolment of girls in education. Additionally, better management of public schools, particularly those in rural areas, can also contribute to enhanced girls’ enrolment. Currently 2.5 percent of GDP is allocated to the education sector, which is far from the 4 percent international average. This should be increased to 4.5 per cent as per the recommendations of the World Bank to narrow the educational gaps and ensure quality education for all, especially girls.
Girls’ education needs to be given top priority. The education of girls is a primary catalyst for personal growth, social advancement and economic development. Promoting girls’ education is not just a matter of giving the right of education to girls, rather it is a transformative mission that can yield dividends to a nation on multiple fronts, whether political, economic or social and has an impact on many aspects of human development. Without prioritising girls’ education, a nation will not be able to compete with other economies of the world and the dream of its progress will always remain a dream.
