More

    Malala: ‘Honest Conversations on Girls’ Education Start by Exposing the Worst Violations’

    ChildrenChild RightsMalala: ‘Honest Conversations on Girls’ Education Start by Exposing...
    - Advertisment -

    Malala: ‘Honest Conversations on Girls’ Education Start by Exposing the Worst Violations’

    With 26 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, 53 per cent of whom are girls, the summit seemed to be in line with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s declaration of an education emergency in Pakistan last year, vowing to “bring them [unschooled children] back to school.”

    By Zofeen Ebrahim

    “She was at her brilliant best, speaking fearlessly and boldly about the treatment of women by the Afghan Taliban, robbing an entire generation of girls their future, and how they want to erase them from society,” said educationist and one of the speakers, Baela Raza Jamil, referring to the speech by Nobel Laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai.

    Jamil heads Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, an organization promoting progressive education.

    Malala addressed the second day of a two-day international conference organized by the Pakistan Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFE&PT) on January 11 and 12, to discuss the challenges and opportunities for girls’ education in Muslim communities.

    “They are violators of human rights, and no cultural or religious excuse can justify them,” said Malala. “Let’s not legitimize them.”

    - Advertisement -

    Pop singer and education activist Shehzad Roy was equally impressed.

    Roy said, “When she speaks, she speaks from the heart.”

    It has been a little over three years since the Taliban banned secondary education for girls in Afghanistan on September 17, shortly after their return to power in August 2021. In 2022, the Taliban put a ban on women studying in colleges, and then in December 2024, this was extended to include women studying nursing, midwifery and dentistry.

    In October 2012, at 15, Malala survived a Taliban assassination attempt for advocating girls’ education in Mingora, Pakistan. She was flown to England for treatment and has since settled there with her family while facing continued Taliban threats.

    Colonial Laws

    Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a university professor and columnist, acknowledged that the treatment of girls and women in Afghanistan was essentially “primitive and barbaric,” but emphasized that “before the Pakistani government takes on the mantle of being their [Afghan women’s] liberator, there are laws relating to women (in Pakistan) that need to be changed and anti-women practices that need to be dismantled.”

    Dismantling many of the colonial laws and legal systems that perpetuate gender inequality at both personal and societal levels was also pointed out by Jamil, who spoke about the important role women can play in peacebuilding. But that was only possible, she said, when society can promote education and lifelong learning without discrimination.

    “In Malala, we have a living example of a contemporary young student’s lived experience of responding to deadly violence by becoming a unique peacebuilder,” said Jamil in her speech to the conference.

    This high-profile conference deliberately kept low-key till the last minute for “security reasons gathered 150 delegates, including ministers, ambassadors, scholars, and representatives from 44 Muslim and allied countries, as well as international organizations like UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the Saudi-funded Muslim World League.

    Hoodbhoy, however, said the summit was “solely purposed to break Pakistan’s isolation with the rest of the world and shore up a wobbly government desperate for legitimacy.”

    While some Indian organizations were represented, Afghanistan, despite being invited, was conspicuously absent.

    26 Million Out of School

    This did not go unnoticed.

    “The silence of the Taliban, the world’s worst offender when it comes to girls’ education, was deafening,” pointed out Michael Kugelman, director of the Washington D.C.-based Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute. Given the strained relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said the former may have wanted this conference to bring attention to the Taliban’s horrific record on girls’ education.

    “And it has succeeded, to a degree, especially with an iconic figure like Malala using the conference as a platform to condemn gender apartheid in Afghanistan under the Taliban.”

    Yusafzai was glad that the conference was taking place in Pakistan. “Because there is still a tremendous amount of work that is ahead of us, so that every Pakistani girl can have access to her education,” she said, referring to the 12 million out-of-school girls.

    Kugelman credited Pakistan as the host for not trying “to hide its own failures” on the education front. “It was important that Prime Minister Sharif acknowledged the abysmal state of girls’ education in Pakistan in his conference speech,” he said.

    With 26 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, 53 per cent of whom are girls, the summit seemed to be in line with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s declaration of an education emergency in Pakistan last year, vowing to “bring them [unschooled children] back to school.”

    “The PM is rightly worried about out-of-school kids, but I’m more worried about those who complete ten years of education and fail to develop critical thinking,” said Roy, commenting on the summit. The pop singer has been a very vocal education activist for over two decades.

    Entrenched Societal Norms

    Hoodbhoy had similar thoughts. “Had there been serious intent to educate girl children, the more effective and far cheaper strategies would be to make coeducation compulsory at the primary and early secondary levels to increase school availability and design curriculum to educate and inform girls (and boys) rather than simply brainwash,” he said.

    Roy stated that Yousafzai has consistently emphasized the importance of quality education. With just 150 government training institutions in Pakistan, he said there was an urgent need for reform through public-private partnerships. He also noted that many private schools hire unqualified teachers and advocated for a teaching license, like medical licenses.

    Since forming the Zindagi Trust in 2003, Roy has been advocating for better quality education in public schools. He has also adopted two government girl’s schools in Karachi and turned them around, providing meals to nursery children and teaching chess and musical instruments, both unheard of in public schools, especially for girls.

    The Prime Minister acknowledged that enrolling 26 million students in school was a challenging task, with “inadequate infrastructure, safety concerns, as well as deeply entrenched societal norms” acting as barriers, and stated that the real challenge was the “will” to do it.

    Colonial Education System

    For 34 years, Jamil has raised questions about the design and process of education in Pakistan through annual reports. She believes that bringing 26 million children back to school is less challenging than ensuring “foundational learning” for those already enrolled. “Forty-five percent of children aged 5-16 fail in reading, comprehension, and arithmetic,” she told IPS. Along with improved funding and well-equipped school infrastructure, Jamil was also concerned about what she termed a runaway population.

    Lamenting on a “lack of imagination to solve the education crisis” within the government, she said there was potential to achieve so much more. Jamil’s own organisation’s 2018 Syani Saheliyan project helped nearly 50,000 adolescent girls (ages 9-19) in South Punjab who had dropped out of school. It provided academics, life skills, vocational training, and technology-driven support to reintegrate them into education. The project was recognized by HundrEd Innovation in 2023.

    Even Dr. Fozia Parveen, assistant professor at Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development, would like the government to think outside the box and find a “middle ground” by including local wisdom in modern education.

    “Instead of western-led education in an already colonial education system, perhaps a more grassroots approach using local methods of education can be looked into,” she suggested, adding: “There is so much local wisdom and knowledge that we will lose if we continue to be inspired by and adopt foreign systems. An education that is localized with all modern forms and technologies is necessary for keeping up with the world,” she said.

    Further, Parveen, who looks at environmental and climate education, said “more skill-based learning would be needed in the times to come, which would require updated curriculum and teachers that are capacitated to foster those skills.”

    Qualitative Transformation

    The two-day International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities ended with the signing of the Islamabad Declaration, recognizing education as a fundamental right protected by divine laws, Islamic teachings, international charters, and national constitutions. Muslim leaders pledged to ensure girls’ right to education, “without limitations” and “free from restrictive conditions,” in line with Sharia. The declaration highlighted girls’ education as a religious and societal necessity, key to empowerment, stable families, and global peace, while addressing extremism and violence.

    It condemned extremist ideologies, fatwas, and cultural norms hindering girls’ education and perpetuating societal biases. Leaders committed to offering scholarships for girls affected by poverty and conflict and developing programs for those with special needs to ensure inclusivity.

    The declaration concluded by affirming “it will not be a temporary appeal, an empty declaration, or simply a symbolic stance. Rather, it will represent a qualitative transformation in advocating for girls’ education—bringing prosperity to every deprived girl and to every community in dire need of the contributions of both its sons and daughters equally”.

    A permanent committee was urged to oversee the implementation of these outcomes.

    This piece has been sourced from the Inter Press Service.

    - Advertisement -

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    Latest news

    India Among Six Most Affected Countries by Extreme Weather Events

    The long-term assessment of the CRI 2025, covering data from 1993 to 2022, places India as the sixth most affected country globally due to extreme weather events. Over this period, India reported a staggering loss of 80,000 lives and economic damages amounting to $200 billion.

    Calculated, Coordinated Crackdown – UN Report Uncovers Systematic Repression in Bangladesh Protests

    The mass mobilisation saw participation from people across different backgrounds, including women and children. Faced with this growing opposition, the former government resorted to increasingly violent means to maintain power. The UN report describes a deliberate strategy orchestrated at the highest levels of the former administration.

    Adani Green Energy Withdraws from $1 Billion Wind Power Project in Sri Lanka

    There has been a raging debate in Sri Lanka on the deal, citing it as an expensive deal. The earlier government had agreed to purchase power from Adani’s 484-megawatt wind power project at a rate of 8.26 US cents per unit under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

    IMF Chief Reaffirms Support for Pakistan’s Reforms in Meeting with Shehbaz Sharif

    Georgieva praised Pakistan’s efforts in implementing the IMF-supported program, acknowledging the country’s improving economic performance with rising growth and declining inflation. She recognized Pakistan’s economic recovery and noted that it is on a positive trajectory.
    - Advertisement -

    In the Lok Sabha: Government Reports Significant Progress on Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

    Eligible projects include warehouses, silos, cold chains, logistics facilities, and smart precision agriculture infrastructure. Loan applicants must contribute at least 10 per cent of the project cost, and an entity can apply for up to 25 projects, each eligible for a loan of up to Rs. 2 crore.

    In the Lok Sabha: Over 68,000 Lakes Constructed as Part of Mission Amrit Sarovar

    With the successful completion of more than 68,000 Sarovars ahead of schedule, the government has now launched the second phase of Mission Amrit Sarovar. This phase will emphasise ensuring sustainable water availability and climate resilience, with community participation (Jan Bhagidari) being the core focus.

    Must read

    India Among Six Most Affected Countries by Extreme Weather Events

    The long-term assessment of the CRI 2025, covering data from 1993 to 2022, places India as the sixth most affected country globally due to extreme weather events. Over this period, India reported a staggering loss of 80,000 lives and economic damages amounting to $200 billion.

    Calculated, Coordinated Crackdown – UN Report Uncovers Systematic Repression in Bangladesh Protests

    The mass mobilisation saw participation from people across different backgrounds, including women and children. Faced with this growing opposition, the former government resorted to increasingly violent means to maintain power. The UN report describes a deliberate strategy orchestrated at the highest levels of the former administration.
    - Advertisement -

    More from the sectionRELATED
    Recommended to you