- We faced different challenges in promoting girls’ education: PM
- Said rready to share his experience with the relevant educational authorities.
- The government has undertaken a number of reforms in the education sector, Dar said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif revealed on Saturday that an alarming 22.8 million children aged five to 16 were out of school, with a disproportionate number of girls, in Pakistan.
Addressing a meeting of visiting education ministers and authorities from various Muslim countries, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to them for their participation in the two-day International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: challenges and opportunities.
Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed optimism that the ongoing international conference on girls’ education would go a long way and help them join hands to promote women’s education in Islamic countries.
He said Pakistan was facing different challenges in promoting girls’ education.
The Prime Minister referred to his earlier speech at the conference in which he had highlighted the importance of women’s education as outlined in Islamic teachings and the instructions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
He said they were ready to share their experience with relevant authorities in the education sector, adding that a committee had been formed in the country for reforms in this sector and was also coordinating with all provinces.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that the government had undertaken a number of reforms in the education sector. Their goals were consistent with funding and budget allocation.
He said they looked forward to working with Muslim countries in the future. Federal ministers, secretaries and senior officials were also present in the meeting.
Representatives and ministers from Turkey, Somalia, Kurdistan, Malaysia and Maldives also spoke on the occasion and thanked the Government of Pakistan for its warm hospitality and initiative in the female education sector and for bringing Muslim countries to share their expertise and promote education. for girls.
“We owe it to our mothers and daughters”
Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz highlighted that girls’ education is a cause worth fighting for, investing in and passionately advocating for.
Opening the two-day conference on girls’ education, the Prime Minister called for collective efforts to develop scalable and sustainable solutions for girls’ education.
The event, which welcomes approximately 150 delegates from 47 countries, aims to identify concrete solutions to the obstacles that hinder girls’ education in these communities.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said millions of young girls over the next decade will enter the workforce, stressing that they have the potential not only to lift themselves, their families and their countries out of poverty, but also to enrich the global economy.
He said we owe it to our mothers, sisters and daughters to ensure that their rights are respected, their ambitions are realized and that no cultural inhibitions stand in the way of realizing their dreams.
The Prime Minister said that despite our rich heritage, the Muslim world, including Pakistan, faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls.
He stressed that denying girls education amounts to denying them the opportunity to express themselves and choose, while depriving them of their right to a bright future.
He pointed out that in Pakistan, women constitute more than half of the total population, while their literacy rate is only 49%.
The Prime Minister said a major step towards reducing education disparities in Pakistan was the establishment of Daanian Schools, a unique initiative introduced to provide quality education to underprivileged children in rural and underdeveloped areas .
He said this initiative is now being replicated in remote areas of Pakistan, paving the way for a brighter and more inclusive future.
Through the government’s flagship youth programme, he said, the government is committed to providing quality education, creating jobs and providing meaningful opportunities, including scholarships and vocational training in skills meeting demand.
Malala Yousafzai joins the global summit
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai also attended a global summit on the education of Muslim girls. The two-day conference hosted by Pakistan brought together education officials from dozens of Muslim-majority countries.
“I am truly honored, overwhelmed and happy to be back in Pakistan,” she said. AFP as she arrived at the conference with her parents.
“The Muslim world, including Pakistan, faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls,” said Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. AFP that Islamabad had extended an invitation to Kabul, “but no member of the Afghan government was present at the conference.”
— With an additional contribution from APP/AFP