Education is the first step towards any country’s prosperity. The country that does not give it due importance, land in the quagmire that Pakistan is seeing itself in today. Pakistan has paid very little attention to female education in general and elementary education in particular. The government has neglected this sector for the last several decades. Only 2 percent of the GDP is allocated to education while defence gets a big chunk of it. The developed world has minimised the concept of gender inequality in education, thus bringing a healthy change and positive results in their societies. Women play an active role in the development of any country and without providing quality education to our females, we cannot achieve any economical and social breakthrough.
Women in Pakistan constitute 51 percent of the population, but still there are many barriers to education for them, mostly the traditional norms and values become a major hurdle. Society suffers from the disparity in the gender education. Pakistan is blessed with a large work force, which can be utilised with better education.
Many female schools were destroyed during the insurgency in Swat and adjacent areas. In Pakistan one out of every three girls are still illiterate. Recent facts given by ‘Educational Task Force of Pakistan’ in 2011 reflect that 1 out of 3 of rural women have never attended school. So it is very important to lay emphasis on female education, as educating females can deliver immense returns.
MUHAMMAD UZAIR NIAZI,
Mianwali, October 4.