Female literacy rate in Pakistan only 49pc: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that despite its rich legacy, the Islamic world, including Pakistan, was facing numerous challenges in ensuring access to education for girls. Addressing a two-day international conference on “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities,” as the chief guest, the prime minister said that in the next decade, millions of young girls would enter the jobs market with immense prospects for social and economic prosperity.

“As they do so, they have the potential to not just lift themselves, their families and the nation out of the poverty but also to enrich the global economy, new markets and find innovative solutions to their shared challenges,” he observed. In Pakistan, he said, women made half of the total population, yet the female literacy rate stood at 49 percent only, while alarmingly around 22.8 million children, with age bracket of five to eight years, were out of schools, including a proportionate number of girls.

The inadequate infrastructure, safety concerns, as well as deeply entrenched societal norms further exacerbated the issue, creating a cycle of deprivation, spanning over generations, he regretted.

He said that that denying education to girls, amounted to denying their rights and voice, and denying them their right to bright future, calling upon the global and local organisations, philanthropists and entrepreneurs to join hands in creating scalable and sustainable opportunities for ensuring education to women.

The prime minister also stressed that they should assure the womenfolk that their rights would be respected and their ambitions be met, besides, no cultural or social impediment stood in the way of achieving their dreams.

He said the founding father Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a strong advocate for women’s role in nation building.

Quaid-i-Azam had stated, “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you,” and advised that the magnitude of these problems might be considerable but they should keep fighting for their cause by committing resources and raising their voice.

The prime minister further elaborated that one of the major steps to addressing the educational disparities in Pakistan was the establishment of Danish schools during his tenure as chief minister Punjab.

It was a unique initiative to provide quality education to the deprived population and to the unprivileged students in the under-developed rural areas. Without this opportunity, their talent would have been lost in the dusty streets of their remote villages, he added.

Shehbaz said this initiative was now replicated in different far-flung areas of Pakistan, paving way for a promising and inclusive future.

He also expressed his satisfaction over the presence of girl students in the ceremony, who had graduated from these schools. Their presence was a testimony to their efforts and culmination of a collective dream as these students embodied the hope and nation’s bright future, he added.

The prime minister said through the youth programmes, the government was committed to providing quality education and creating jobs, and offering meaningful opportunities which included scholarships, vocational training and demand driven skills in AI, data and cyber security etc. as well as, provision of free laptops to the high achievers.

He said the pursuit of knowledge was the sacred duty of every Muslim regardless of gender as emphasised upon by the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). His (SAW) all-inspiring message was preached in the society which was still in darkness and in denial of the basic rights to women, and to address these grave injustices, Islam introduced a transformed social paradigm which declared the pursuit of knowledge as the true measure of social development, he added.

The prime minister said history witnessed to the resilience and determination of women who thrived in the limited spaces afforded to them, breaking the shackles of societal servitude and leaving their deep marks on the society from the early days of Islamic history and cited Hazrat Khadijah (RA) who stood an inspiring example of a successful businesswoman.

At home, he said, they celebrated Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, the mother of the nation, who stood shoulder to shoulder with her brother Muhammad Ali Jinnah while spearheading the Pakistan Movement.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto broke the political ceilings to become the first female prime minister in the Muslim world, inspiring and paving the way for women at all levels, he added.

The prime minister also mentioned the late Arfa Kareem who made history as the youngest Microsoft certified professional at the tender age of nine years.

Today, he said, the dynamic political leaders like Maryam Nawaz, the first chief minister in Pakistan was leading a province and continuing to inspire women in the political, social and economic empowerment.

He expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their support and patronage of the conference.

He also extended gratitude to the Muslim World League for its unwavering commitment to education. The prime minister also announced the signing of Islamabad declaration in line with the UNSC objectives, and to reflecting a collective aspiration of the Ummah.

While speaking on the occasion, Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the government was taking steps to increase the number of schools in the country.

Special attention was being paid on education of girls, free transport for girls, vocational training and training of teachers, he added.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha said education of girls was important for progress of a society. He expressed concern that girls were being deprived of education in Palestine.

Muslim World League Secretary General Muhammad Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa stressed that it was obligatory on men and women to acquire education, adding, “We have to stress on the importance of education of girls.”

The conference aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities in advancing girls’ education across the Muslim communities worldwide, foster dialogue and find actionable solutions to address the challenges.

Addressing the inaugural session, Pakistan Army’s first woman Lieutenant General (retd) Nigar Johar said that to tackle the challenges of women’s education, their involvement in decision-making and policy-making must be ensured. She said the challenges for women’s education were immense, but so were the opportunities. She said that women’s education should be made an integral part of national budget and policy. She said that she grew up in a society where gender discrimination was common, girls’ education was often neglected, adding: “Education revolutionised my life and I am at this place today. I’m serving the country.”

The event brought together over 150 international dignitaries, including ministers, ambassadors, scholars, Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai and academia from 44 Muslim and friendly countries, OIC, MWL secretary generals, representatives from the international organisations including Unesco, Unicef, and the World Bank. Separately, addressing a meeting of the visiting ministers and authorities of education from various Muslim countries, the prime minister expressed his optimism that the current ongoing international conference on girls education would go a long way and help them put their acts together to promote education among females in the Islamic countries. He expressed gratitude to them for their participation in the conference of high importance in the present-day challenges.

He said Pakistan faced different challenges in promoting education for girls. Around 22.8 million children in the country were out of schools and majority among them were girls, he added.

He said that they were ready to share their experience with the relevant authorities in the education sector, adding a committee had been formed in the country over reforms in this sector which was also coordinating with all the provinces.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the government had undertaken a number of reforms in the education sector. Their goals were compatible with the funding and budget allocation.

He said that they were looking forward to working with the Muslim countries in future.

Federal ministers, secretaries and senior officials were also present in the meeting.

Representatives, ministers from Turkiye, Somalia, Kurdistan, Malaysia and Maldives also spoke on the occasion and thanked the Government of Pakistan for the warm hospitality and taking initiative in the female education sector, bringing the Muslim countries to share their expertise, and ensuring promotion of education for girls.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban government is not attending a global summit on girls education in the Muslim world hosted by neighbours Pakistan, Islamabad said Saturday. “We had extended an invitation to Afghanistan but no-one from the Afghan government was at the conference,” Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told AFP.