Women Education in Pakistan
Women education in Pakistan
Education plays a pivotal role in developing human capital in any society. Education has become a universal human right all around the globe. Article thirty seven of the Constitution of Pakistan stipulates that education is a fundamental right of every citizen,[1] but still gender discrepancies exist in educational sector. According to Human Development Report (2011) of United Nations Development Program, ratio of female to male with at least secondary education is 0.502, and public expenditure on education amounts to only 2.7% of the GDP of the country.(2)
Patriarchal values heavily govern the social structure in Pakistani society. Home has been defined as a woman 's legitimate ideological and physical space where she performs her reproductive role as a mother and wife, while a man dominates the world outside the home and performs his productive role as a breadwinner. Men and women are conceptually segregated into two distinct worlds. The household resources are allocated in the favor of sons (male members of the family) due to their productive role. Education for boys is prioritized vis-a-vis girls, because it is perceived that boys must be equipped with educational skills to compete for resources in public arena, while girls have to specialize in domestic skills to be good mothers and wives, hence, education is not that important for girls. This gender division of labor has been internalized by the society, and girls/women do not have many choices for themselves that could change these patriarchal realities of their lives. Society does not allow girls/women to develop their human capabilities by precluding them from acquiring education. Lack of emphasis on the importance of women 's education is one of the cardinal features of gender inequality in Pakistan.(3) The Human Development Report (HDR) listed Pakistan in the category of "low human development" countries with a female literacy rate of thirty percent, and Pakistan has ranked
Education plays a pivotal role in developing human capital in any society. Education has become a universal human right all around the globe. Article thirty seven of the Constitution of Pakistan stipulates that education is a fundamental right of every citizen,[1] but still gender discrepancies exist in educational sector. According to Human Development Report (2011) of United Nations Development Program, ratio of female to male with at least secondary education is 0.502, and public expenditure on education amounts to only 2.7% of the GDP of the country.(2)
Patriarchal values heavily govern the social structure in Pakistani society. Home has been defined as a woman 's legitimate ideological and physical space where she performs her reproductive role as a mother and wife, while a man dominates the world outside the home and performs his productive role as a breadwinner. Men and women are conceptually segregated into two distinct worlds. The household resources are allocated in the favor of sons (male members of the family) due to their productive role. Education for boys is prioritized vis-a-vis girls, because it is perceived that boys must be equipped with educational skills to compete for resources in public arena, while girls have to specialize in domestic skills to be good mothers and wives, hence, education is not that important for girls. This gender division of labor has been internalized by the society, and girls/women do not have many choices for themselves that could change these patriarchal realities of their lives. Society does not allow girls/women to develop their human capabilities by precluding them from acquiring education. Lack of emphasis on the importance of women 's education is one of the cardinal features of gender inequality in Pakistan.(3) The Human Development Report (HDR) listed Pakistan in the category of "low human development" countries with a female literacy rate of thirty percent, and Pakistan has ranked
References: 3. Chaudhry, I. & Rahman, S. (2009). "The Impact of Gender Inequality in Education on Rural Poverty in Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis". 4 5. Nussbaum, M. (2003). Women 's Education: A Global Challenge. University of Chicago. 6. Mishra R. C. (2005). Women Education. New Delhi: A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. 7. Goel, A. (2004). Education and Socio-Economic Perspectives of Women Development and Empowerment. 8. Klasen, S. and Lamanna, F. (2008), The Impact of Gender Inequality in Education and Employment on Economic Growth in Development Countries: Updates and Extensions. 9. Klasen, Stephan (1999). "Does Gender Inequality Reduce Growth and development? Evidence from Cross-Country Regressions", 10 11. Chaudhry, I.S. (2007), "Impact of Gender Inequality in Education on Economic Growth: An Empirical Evidence from Pakistan", The Pakistan Horizon Vol. 60, No. 4, 2007. 12. Chaudhry, I.S. (2009), "Poverty Alleviation in Southern Punjab (Pakistan) 13 15. Khan, S (2007). "Gender Issues in higher education in Pakistan". Bulletin, Issue 162, 2007. 16. Why the Taliban Shot the Schoolgirl| Leon Wieseltier| October 19, 2012 | accessed 12.11.212 17 18. Alex Rodriguez (26 October 2012). "Taliban 's attack on Pakistan education goes beyond one girl]". Los Angeles Times. 19. Huma Yusuf (25 October 2012). "In the Taliban 's sights". The New York Times. 21. Government of Pakistan (2006). http://www.moe.gov.pk/ 22