There is an African proverb that says, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.”
Unfortunately, we can find the dominance of the patriarchal mindset in South Asian people. Due to the bad scenario of gender inequality in Pakistan, women even struggle for their basic primary education. More than 13 million girls are out of school. One of the main reasons is the limited resources for education.
According to World Bank 2020, 62.8% of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas. Hence, because of living in a rural area, girls fail to grow and learn. There are no schools available in backward areas. If there are any, there is no supply of electricity then. Or let’s suppose if there are schools and electricity available, still girls will face restrictions from society to join schools. Overall, Pakistan’s educational standard is deemed to be a failure due to cultural taboos. Moreover, Pakistan’s education system is facing institutional decay due to corruption. Corruption has become a norm in the Pakistan’s education sector.
UN Article 26 states that “everyone has the right to education”. Women cover half of the world’s population and Pakistan’s as well. Pakistan can go beyond best after utilizing women’s power rightly. These 50% of women can change the fate of this country. There are tremendous benefits of educated women in society. Let us discuss some of them.
Firstly, education makes a woman aware of her rights and responsibilities. By knowing her rights, she can fight for her betterment and can achieve what she deserves.
Secondly, education provides leadership skills to women. With the help of those skills, women can play a key role on a local and national level. We have examples of Benazir Bhutto, Fatimah Jinnah and so many other intellectual ladies in the history of Pakistan.
Thirdly, through the emergence of educated women, conflicts can be prevented, and societies can be transformed. That means peaceful societies are tending to be created by educated women.
Fourthly, women make effective decisions for their families and themselves. So, women can also be involved in the decision-making processes. Fifthly, educating a woman can help in the country’s productivity. Females can play their role in the economic growth of a state.
Lastly, educated women are more likely to take care of their health and family. If they earn, they will invest it in the betterment of their children.
To achieve these benefits the way forward is to change the mindsets of Pakistani people. People should adopt acceptance towards the success of women. Pakistani men cannot see a woman being ahead or leading them in any sector. To achieve the educational goals of women, gender equality must be achieved first. Due to the discrimination among both genders, females face difficulties in the education ground.
The government should also actively play its role. Primary education should be free and effective enforcement of compulsory education should be done. Government should keep a strict eye on the government officials. Proper check and balance should be held. Education institutes should be funded. Furthermore, it should be the responsibility of the government to check if the education funds are properly used for education betterment. Moreover, now and then education reforms should be done.
There should be a female inspecting officer to keep an eye on the teachers. Government should provide school facilities. Existing schools should be improved. Qualified and adequate staff should be appointed. The teaching methods should be renovated. Government should provide incentives to the parents to promote the education of daughters.
Many famous people have focused on the education of females. Once Napoleon said, “Nation’s progress is impossible without trained and educated mothers. If the women of my country are not educated about half of the people will be ignorant.” To make Pakistani society a prosperous one, the nation has to focus on women’s education. There is a long way to attain the maximum number of educated women.
It is not easy to exploit educated women so there will be more careful people in society. South Asian people think women are only to take care of their children. But in real women are capable of much more. Sustainable development is directly proportional to educated women. Pakistan’s majority population lies under the poverty line, so educated women can help in the eradication of poverty as well.
