LITERATURE REVIEW

Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the
mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the
process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and
values from one generation to another. The history of education according to Dieter
Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin 1994, "began either millions of years
ago or at the end of 1770".

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION:
The importance of education cannot be neglected by any nation. And
in today’s world, the role of education has become even more vital. It
is an absolute necessity for economic and social development of any
nation.
Education has an immense impact on the human society. One can
safely assume that a person is not in the proper sense till he is
educated. It trains the human mind to think and take the right
decision. In other words, man becomes a rational animal when he is
educated. It is through education that knowledge and information is
received and spread throughout the world.

EDUCATION A BASIC RIGHT FOR BOTH MEN & WOMEN:

The concept of equity goes beyond equality of opportunity, where everyone is treated the
same, to fostering a bias-free environment where individuals benefit equally. Equity in
education, therefore, would take into consideration not only equal access to education of
a particular standard, but the contents of curriculum, instructional and evaluation
materials and practices, different ways of learning and views of knowledge, and everyone
having the opportunity to achieve.

According to the Convention Against Discrimination in Education adapted by UNESCO

in 1960, any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference which, being based on race,
color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
economic condition or birth, as the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality
of treatment in education is tantamount to discrimination. This refers to all types and
levels of education and includes access to education, the standard and quality of
education, and the conditions under which it is given.

The Convention against Discrimination in Education has not been ratified by Pakistan.
Although, constitutionally all citizens are equal before the law, in practice there is
discrimination in various forms in the education system, mostly due to social customs and
poor implementation of education programmes. Poor children, girl students, students
from rural areas and students from minorities are particularly affected by inequalities and
inequities in the education system.
In 1990, the Education for All (EFA) commitment was launched to ensure that by 2015 all
children, particularly girls, those in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic
minorities, have access to and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good
quality.

Islam teaches that education of men and women is of equal importance. The Holy Quran
holds learning as priceless and tells that only the learned can understand the signs of God
and His wisdom, and come close to Him. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has
said:

"It is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek knowledge."

The Holy prophet had keen interest in the education of women. His own wife, Hazrat
Ayesha was highly learned and he is reported to have said to his companions: Learn half
of the faith from Ayesha. After the death of the Holy prophet his companions frequently
asked her for guidance in matters on which there was a difference of opinion and she was
considered an authority on many vital issues and a large number of authentic traditions
were narrated by her.

WOMEN A NEGLECTED PART OF EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS:

Education is regarded as the key factor in overcoming the barriers that women face and
the basic tool for empowering women and bringing them into the main stream of
development. Education not only provides knowledge and skills to improve health and
livelihoods, but it empowers women to take their right place in the society and
development process. Education gives status and confidence in decision making.
Educating women is the key to reducing poverty. The need of women education is
emphasized all over the world. Women status in the society and education are
interrelated. According to The International Center for Research on Women, the
education that a girl receives is the strongest predictor of the age she will marry and is a
critical factor in reducing the prevalence of child marriage.

EDUCATION FOR WOMEN IN PAKISTAN:

Women in Pakistan do not form a homogeneous entity; their opportunities vary greatly
with the social system that they are part of. In rural areas, patriarchal structures often
combined with poverty, limit opportunities to women, while women belonging to the
upper and middle classes have increasingly greater access to education and employment
opportunities and can assume greater control over their lives.

The educational status of women in Pakistan is unacceptably low, in fact, amongst the
lowest in the world. The problem emanates at the primary level, as low participation and
high dropouts at that stage prevent females from reaching higher education and equitable
opportunities for such furtherance do not become available to the female gender.

Although education has been seen to add value to a female worker, increase her
productivity and make her less vulnerable to violence or harassment, it is often the
economic productivity and security that are given as reasons that are used to hold girls
back from schooling. Poor families allocate scarce resources to their sons’ education,
expecting higher economic returns. Cultural limitations discourage parents from sending
their daughters to mixed gender schools. However, the problem is not just of demand.
Similarly poor physical environment or lack of basic facilities in schools also discourages
parents from sending their girls to schools.

Pakistan has never had a systematic, nationally coordinated effort to improve female
primary education, despite its poor standing. It was once assumed that the reasons behind
low female school enrollments were cultural, but research conducted by the Ministry for
Women's Development and a number of international donor agencies in the 1980s
revealed that danger to a woman's honor was parents' most crucial concern. Indeed,
reluctance to accept schooling for women turned to enthusiasm when parents in rural
Punjab and rural Balochistan could be guaranteed their daughters' safety and, hence, their
honor. Entry from: "Pakistan: A Country Study" published by the Federal Research
Division of the Library of Congress.

RELATION BETWEEN GENDER DISCRIMINATION &

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM:

The literacy rate of females in Pakistan is at 39.6 percent compared to that of males at
67.7 percent. The objectives of education policies in Pakistan aim to achieve equality in
education between girls and boys and to reduce the gender gap in the educational system.
However, the policy also encourages girls, mainly in rural areas of Pakistan, to acquire
basic home management skills, which are preferred over full-scale primary education.
The attitudes towards women in Pakistani culture make the fight for educational equality
more difficult. The lack of democracy and feudal practices of Pakistan also contribute to
the gender gap in the educational system. This feudal system leaves the underpowered,
women in particular, in a very vulnerable position. The long-lived socio-cultural belief
that women play a reproductive role within the confines of the home leads to the belief
that educating women holds no value. The book Gender and Education in Pakistan,
edited by Rashida Qureshi and Jane F.A. Rarieya, is a compilation of articles and study
reports about the state of female education in Pakistan. It not only sheds light on the
discrimination that prevails in our society regarding women’s education but also analyses
the problems women face when they choose to pursue a career in the field of education,
which is thought to be the best option available for women in our country.

However, the impact of the gender gap in the implementation of the ban by the Taliban
on women’s education in the Swat region, as reported in Issue 21 January 2009 Pakistan
Daily News. About 400 private schools enroll 40,000 girls have been closed. At least 10
girls who tried to open the school after January 15, 2009 deadline for the militants of the
Taliban movement, blew up the town of Mingora, Swat based. “Over 170 schools were
destroyed or burned buildings and other countries. The Taliban claimed to recognize their
Islamic duty to offer education to both boys and girls, yet a decree was passed that
banned girls above the age of 8 from receiving instruction. The female employment ban
was felt greatly in the education system. Within Kabul alone the ruling affected 106,256
girls, 148,223 boys and 8,000 female university undergraduates. 7,793 female teachers
were dismissed, a move that crippled the provision of education and caused 63 schools to
close due to a sudden lack of educators. Some women ran clandestine schools within
their homes for local children, or for other women under the guise of sewing classes, such
as the Golden Needle Sewing School. The learners, parents and educators were aware of
the consequences should the Taliban discover their activities, but for those who felt
trapped under the strict Taliban rule, such actions allowed them a sense of self-
determination and hope.

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION:

CONCLUSION:
There is no doubt that in country like Pakistan, people specially women’s have to face
socio-cultural hurdles to acquire education. It is war against these hidden fences but
Pakistani people are struggling hard to get their rights. Participants identified poverty,
dowry, social norms and early marriages as barriers. For most of the participants, societal
attitudes towards female higher education are mixed; some people are in favor of female
education which is depicted in a participant’s personal experience. This study also
revealed that education can bring phenomenal change in an individual’s life by enhancing
their confidence, raising their status in the family and society.