KARACHI:
Even though education is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, across interior Sindh, girls have little access to education. Boys on the other hand are given more freedom and allowed to seek education beyond primary schooling. Although girls may perform better during primary and secondary schooling, they are rarely allowed to sit board or intermediate exams and apply to universities.
Those who try to resist family pressure are faced with a threat to their lives. Even when families allow their daughters to travel outside for college or university, the local community shuns the families. Therefore, most girls do not study beyond primary school and are either forced to work in the fields or as domestic workers or married off at young ages. High poverty and illiteracy have prevented people from realising the importance of educating girls. They see little purpose in investing in girls’ education when they eventually have to get married. Due to this, women are entirely reliant on the male members of their families and often have to suffer abuse and violence. Uneducated women also struggle with the upbringing of their children, which results in generational illiteracy and poverty.
I urge the Sindh government to spread awareness about the importance of education among the local communities. Schools should be built in remote towns and villages and girls should be offered bursaries or scholarships to further encourage families to send girls to schools.
Kohinoor
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2022.
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