1. UNESCO ISLAMABAD Farhana Iqbal

2. Pakistan: An overview Total estimated population of Pakistan for 2010 is over 173 million. Rural population 64% to 36 % 27 : 25 This figure indicates gender inequality in society, because it reflects either a high rate of premature deaths of females compared to males, or a cultural preference for male children, or both. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 2

3. National Commitments to Equality inAccess to EducationConstitution 1973 Article 37, the State shall (b) remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within the minimum possible period; (c) make technical and professional education generally available and higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.Constitutional Amendment No 18: The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by the law. (Article 25-A, Constitution of Pakistan). Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 3

4. National Commitments to Equality inAccess to Education National Plan of Action (2001-2015) NPA Dakar Framework for Action The objectives of the NPA are to ensure access to education for disadvantaged rural and urban population groups, particularly girls and women; to promote community participation and ownership of basic education programs; and to improve the relevance and quality of basic education. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 4

5. National Commitments to Equality inAccess to Education National Education Policy (Sep 2009) NEP It recognizes that Pakistan has persistent gender and rural-urban disparities in access to education and it aims to revitalize the existing education system and Enable Pakistan to fulfill its commitments to the Education for All goals and the Millennium Development Goals relating to education. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 5

6. International Commitments to Equalityin Access to Education Universal Declaration of Convention of the Human Rights Elimination of All Forms (December 10, 1948) of Discrimination 48 members Against Women CEDAW (1979) UN General Assembly adopted UDHR free and Pakistan acceded to compulsory education at CEDAW on March 12, 1996 least in the elementary and Convention of the fundamental stages Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 6

7. International Commitments to Equalityin Access to EducationBeijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) In Particular, the Declaration committed Pakistan and the international community to promoting people- centred sustainable development ... through the provision of basic education, life-long education, literacy and training ... for girls and women (Article 27), and ensuring equal access to and equal treatment of women and men in education (Article 30). Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 7

8. International Commitments to Equalityin Access to Education World Declaration on Education For All (2000)(also known as the Jomtien Declaration)Representative from 155 countries Dakar Framework for Action - April 2004 (164 countries)In particular, the signatories committed to ensuring that in the learning environment, the content, processes and context of education must be free of gender bias,encourage and support equality and respect.This includes teachers behaviors and attitudes, curriculum and textbooks, and student interactions. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 8

9. EFA Goalsi. expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children;ii. ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality;iii. ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programs;iv. achieving a 50 % improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults;v. eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality; andvi. improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 9

10. International Commitments to Equality in Access to Education The Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) include 192 members of UNOAchieve universal primary education is a commitment to achieving equality in access to primary education for all boys and girls by 2015. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 10

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12. Socio-Cultural View Working toward an overall goal of enabling a democratic culture in Pakistan, inclusion of Gender and Education sensitize students and policy makers to examine the role of gender identities in institutions and to promote a democratic culture by reviewing curriculum and textbooks. A key objective of the course is to open and explore a space to contest rising extremism through sound academic research and education activities. The project delivered all its outputs

13. Rationale Part of the problem is that there is no well- developed, academically rigorous, institutional space to conserve the foundations of democracy against fanatical threats. Neither students, nor policy makers, nor moderate intellectuals have access to such a space to share information and generate avenues for action. The youth, in particular, is offered no coherent, locally grounded understanding of what the fanatical, radical ideology actually means for their cultural heritage.

14. There are few spaces where this forced identity is being contested in a sound, intellectual manner. No institution in the country is dedicated to theorize gender and culture rigorously and relevant to Pakistani history and heritage. Likewise, there is no directly gender and culture- related contest to the radical identity of extremists.

15. Access to Basic Education inPakistan: Key Facts and FiguresSchoolsTeachersNet enrolment rate Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 15

16. Access to Basic Education in Pakistan: Key Facts and FiguresTable 1: Number of boys, girls and mixed primary schools by province/region 43.8 % are schools for boys, 31.5 % are schools for girls and the remaining 24.7 % are schools with Mix enrolmentSource: Pakistan Education Statistics 2006-07, AEPAM, Ministry of Education. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 16

17. In urban areas of Pakistan 27 % of primaryschools are boy schools, 24 % are girls schoolsand 49 %co-educational schools.In rural areas, 47 % of primary schools are boysschools, 33 % are girls schools, and 20 % are co-educational schools. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 17

18. Most provinces/Areas have more male teachers thanfemale teachers,While in three provinces/Areas: Punjab, AJK andICT, there are more female teachers than males. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 18

19. The lower % of female teachers in rural areas ofPakistan, can be attributed to fewer schools for girls inrural areas (and therefore lower demand for femaleteachers) and also to factors such as non-availabilityof educated women within the local community toserve as teacher, security problems and poor housingand transport in rural areas, which deter non-localwomen from working as teachers in such areas. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 19

20. The NERs for girls are consistently lower than boys, therebyindicating that in Pakistan girls have less access to primaryeducation than boys. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 20

21. It is clear that NERs for boys are higher than the NERs forgirls in all four provinces. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 21

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23. Urban and rural figures indicates that the NERs of girls areconsistently lower than the NERs of boys in rural areas, butin urban areas the NERs of girls are sometimes higher thanthe NERs of boys.In urban areas of Punjab, for example, the girls NERs in2006-07 and 2007-08 were higher than the boys NERs. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 23

24. Pakistan has a higher Human Development Index ranking than Nepaland Bangladesh, compared to these countries and others in the South andWest Asia region Pakistan has the lowest NERs for both boys and girls. TheNERs are generally positively correlated with public expenditure oneducation, indicating that greater expenditure may lead to higher NERs. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 24

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26. Literacy in Pakistan: Key Facts andFiguresPakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) literacy ratesfor girls and women are consistently lower than rates for boys and men. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 26

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30. Current Level of Gender Equality inAccess to EducationLiteracy is a core component of basic education, butdespite the Governments commitments to providingbasic education to all, Pakistan has one of thehighest rates of illiteracy in the world.At present, the overall literacy rate of those aged 15and above is 56 %.Furthermore, significant gender disparity is evidentin the data of latest PSLM Survey (2008-09) thatindicates only 45% women are literate compared with69% literate males in Pakistan. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 30

31. In the EFA Development Index (EDI), a composite measureof overall progress towards meeting the Dakar EFA goals,Pakistan is ranked 118 out of 129 countries, and is thereforeranked among the countries with low EDI.14Furthermore, Pakistan is ranked lower than other countriesin the South Asian region Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 31

32. Reasons for Gender Disparity in Accessto Education in Pakistan Poverty and absence of free and compulsory education for all (up to March 2004) Low education budget (to raise its education budget up to 4% of GDP, but on average its spending has remained around 2% of GDP during last 20 years.) Cultural norms restricting freedom of movement of girls and women (500-metre increase in distance from the closest school admitting girls and this distance penalty accounts for 60% of the gender gap) Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 32

33. Continued . Gender division of labour Cultural preference for male children Shortage of schools (parents generally prefer schools to be sex-segregated) Shortage of female teachers (girls should be taught by female teachers) Conflict (Ongoing conflict between various groups in parts of the country) Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 33

34. What Needs to be Done Spend more on education 2 % of GNP on education is insufficient. The Government must commit to allocating 7 % of GNP to the education sector BUT A recent analysis of budget and public sector expenditure on education has revealed that spending on education has actually declined, during 2007-2009, which is a matter of great concern. Build more schools and train more teachers Make primary education free and compulsory for both boys and girls Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 34

35. Continued . Introduce flexible school timings and region-specific school calendars Improve advocacy Establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism Improve coordination Ensure policies support equal opportunities for employment and equal wages Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 35

36. Your Opinions/Suggestions Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 36