Girl Education in Rural Pakistan

Abstract

Girl Education is a global issue. Many reports and papers, including UNESCO reports on gender monitoring and education highlight the intensity of the challenge across the world. It is underpinned by myriad factors ranging from a genuine desire on the part of the family to protect and safeguard the girls in specific contexts to cultural determinants, social manipulations, gender discrimination, economic priorities, religious interpretations, political exploitations, vested interests, and simple pragmatics, among many others. However, the nature of these factors and their combinations vary in diverse societies influenced by dominant cultural and belief systems, as well as by the economic parameters.Girl education in rural Pakistan is a serious cause of concern. In some regions, the literacy gap between men and women is as large as 45 percentage points (Simons, 2007). It is alarming that in Pakistan, 47 percent of all girls never enrol in a school (McCutcheon, 2007). Economic imperatives emerge as a significant factor but the feudal patriarchal structure of the society (Mernissi, 1991; Shah and Conchar, 2008; Weiss, 1994), religious discourses (Al-Hibri, 1982; Talbani, 1996), gendered roles and stereotyping (Griffin, 2006; Shah, 2008), entrenched traditions and practices underpinned by public/private divide (Afshar, 1991; Seller, 1996; Shah, & Conchar, 2007) and a lack of relevant effective responsive policies exacerbate the situation. This paper attempts to debate the issue, inviting to respond to legitimate concerns, to involve all stakeholders, to solicit social mobilisation, to remove practical barriers, to facilitate acceptable structures, and to ensure effective outcomes. The underlying argument is that ensuring education for girls is crucial, not only for resolving gender inequities, but it is also critical for combating with personal and national poverty.