Breaking the siege of female education

WHEN the world commemorated Malala Day, it was an occasion that went much beyond marking the bravery and courage of a single girl against her Taleban attackers. The young Pakistani girl Malala Yousufzai, who narrowly escaped death for advocating female education, symbolizes struggle against status quo and determination to fight for a better future of women all over the world. Narrating her ordeal, she told the UN Youth Assembly, “They shot my friends, too. They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed, and out of that silence came thousands of voices.”
According to official statistics by the Federal Education Ministry, the overall literacy rate in Pakistan is only 46 percent. However, the rate is much lower among girls and only 26 percent of females are literate. These figures discount the definition of literacy to also include those people who can merely sign their names. Out of the total 163,000 primary schools in Pakistan, only 40,000 are geared toward educating girls.
Pakistan’s conservative north and rural areas, home to about 70 percent of the population, present an even more dismal picture of education, especially among women. Even though authorities have promised to improve the ground situation and promote literacy programs on an equal footing among both men and women, they have met stiff resistance due to political, social and cultural obstacles in Pakistan. While the number of schools in these areas is scarce, social and cultural norms of the region also limit the prospects of education.
Religious clerics, who reign supreme in conservative areas of Pakistan, prohibit education for girls based on misinterpretations of Islamic teachings. The presence of strong, local landlords further complicates the matters as they banish the formal and informal schools opened by state and non-state organizations. Any opportunities for education, especially for girls, are viewed as a direct challenge to their status and control over the society. As the political system is also based on a close nexus between the clergy and these feudal lords, efforts to deal with the hapless situation are often insincere and not based on well-thought out plans.
At the same time, the vicious cycle of poverty also limits the chances of education for girls. Educating a girl child would essentially require making a trade-off with an income source. Figures of UNICEF reveal that around 17.6 percent of Pakistani children engage in employment to support their families. In particular, girls are regularly employed as domestic servants and denied a chance to gain education. The future of younger generation, particularly girls, also remains critically endangered in war-hit areas of Pakistan’s restive north.
While days to honor heroes like Malala have symbolic importance, the authorities must take urgent measures to break the siege of female education in Pakistan. Attacks on prominent female personalities show that extremists will not refrain from quashing voices that call for basic human rights and equality for women. Global bodies must support the efforts of Pakistan’s government to universalize education, which will ensure a brighter future for women of the country. The government must also take on board all stakeholders so that social, cultural and political obstacles may be overcome to develop a consensus on promoting women's rights.