A Critical Review of Low School Enrollment and Literacy Rates among Girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/qjss.349445149Keywords:
Low Enrollment, Girls, EducationAbstract
Patriarchal principles dominate the social structure in Pakistani society. Moreover, Pakistan's culture is firmly anchored in traditions and practices that confine a woman's role to that of procreation, household management, child rearing, cleaning, and food preparation, which significantly reduces their enrollment in formal education. The present study not only provides a critical review of the existing literature but also adds primary data on the problems/challenges closely associated with low school enrollment and literacy among girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A qualitative approach, including unstructured interviews along with secondary data, was adopted in this paper. The findings of the study show that several empirical studies examine the general causes of the low ratio of female education in the study area. However, this empirical work identified gaps in previous scholarly work, particularly from sociological perspectives, intending to inspire further studies from the lenses of local people regarding the low enrollment of female education.
Downloads
References
Afshar, H. (1991). Women, development and survival in the third world. Longman Group Limited.
Ali, I., & Ali, S. (2020). Why may COVID-19 overwhelm low-income countries like Pakistan? Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 16(1), 316-320. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2020.329
Ali, T. S., Krantz, G., Gul, R., Asad, N., Johansson, E., & Mogren, I. (2011). Gender roles and their influence on life prospects for women in urban Karachi, Pak0istan: A qualitative study. Global Health Action, 4(1), 7448. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v4i0.7448
Anwar, T., Qureshi, S. K., & Ali, H. (2004). Landlessness and rural poverty in Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review, 43(4II), 855-874. https://doi.org/10.30541/v43i4iipp.855-874
Bank, W. (2002). Pakistan Poverty Assessment. Poverty in Pakistan, Vulnerabilities, Social Gaps, and Rural Dynamics. South Asia Region.
Begam, A., & Mujahid, N. (2019). An assessment of gender inequality: A case study of Pakistan. International Journal on Women Empowerment, 5, 43-62. https://doi.org/10.29052/2413-4252.v5.i1.2019.43-62
Butt, D. I. H., Butt, T. M., & Ullah, D. R. (2020). Restructuring compulsory education in Pakistan in the post-eighteenth constitutional amendment era: Insights from the region and developed nations. South Asian Studies, 28(2), 415-425. http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/csas/PDF/13%20Dr.%20Intizar_v28_2_13.pdf
Cammish, N. K. (1993). Sons and daughters: Attitudes and issues affecting girls’ education in developing countries. Oxford studies in comparative education, 3(2), 87-107.
Chankseliani, M., & McCowan, T. (2020). Higher education and the sustainable development goals. Higher Education, 81(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00652-w
Charlton, E., Mills, M., Martino, W., & Beckett, L. (2007). Sacrificial girls: A case study of the impact of streaming and setting on gender reform. British Educational Research Journal, 33(4), 459-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701434011
Chitrakar, R. (2009). Overcoming barriers to girls’ education in South Asia: Deepening the analysis. Kathmandu: United Nations Children’s Fund.
Choudhry, A. N., Mutalib, R. A., & Ismail, N. S. (2019). Socio-cultural factors affecting women economic empowerment in Pakistan: A situation analysis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(5), 90-102. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v9-i5/5842
Danes, S. M., & Haberman, H. (2007). Teen Financial Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Behavior: A Gendered View. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 18(2), 48–60.
Evans, D. K., Akmal, M., & Jakiela, P. (2021). Gender gaps in education: The long view. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.2478/izajodm-2021-0001
Farah, I., & Shera, S. (2007). Female education in Pakistan: A review. Gender and education in Pakistan, 03-40.
Farooq, M. S. (2018). Millennium development goals (MDGs) and quality education situation in Pakistan at primary level. International Online Journal of Primary Education, 7(1), 1-23. https://www.iojpe.org/index.php/iojpe/article/view/56
Goodwin, J. (2002). Price of honor: Muslim women lift the veil of silence on the Islamic world. Penguin.
Haq, R. (2014). Gloomy Picture: 25 m children out of school says new report. Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk/story/779119/gloomy-picture-25m-children-out-of-school-says-new-report
Herz, B., Herz, B. K., & Sperling, G. B. (2004). What works in girls' education: Evidence and policies from the developing world. Council on foreign relations.
Kennedy, E., Binder, G., Humphries-Waa, K., Tidhar, T., Cini, K., Comrie-Thomson, L., Vaughan, C., Francis, K., Scott, N., Wulan, N., Patton, G., & Azzopardi, P. (2020). Gender inequalities in health and wellbeing across the first two decades of life: An analysis of 40 low-income and middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Lancet Global Health, 8(12), e1473-e1488. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30354-5
Khalid, R., & Razem, M. (2022). The nexus of gendered practices, energy, and space use: A comparative study of middleclass housing in Pakistan and Jordan. Energy Research & Social Science, 83, 102340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102340
Khalid, R., & Sunikka-Blank, M. (2017). Homely social practices, uncanny electricity demands: Class, culture and material dynamics in Pakistan. Energy Research & Social Science, 34, 122-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.06.038
Khan, S. B. (2010). Problems in universalization of primary education in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 4(2), 147-155. https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/188006
Khan, M. A. (2018). The status of early childhood education in Pakistan: Inside stories. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(3), 310-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949118757049
Kronstadt, K. A. (2004). Education reform in Pakistan. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA461689
Latif, A. (2009). A critical analysis of school enrollment and literacy rates of girls and women in Pakistan. Educational Studies, 45(5), 424-439. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131940903190477
Mehmood, S., Chong, L., & Hussain, M. (2018). Females higher education in Pakistan: An analysis of socio-economic and cultural challenges. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 5(6). https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.56.4658
Miller, B. D. (2001). Female-Selective Abortion in Asia: Patterns, Policies, and Debates. American Anthropologist, 103(4), 1083-1095. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2001.103.4.1083
Mosedale, S. (2005). Assessing women's empowerment: Towards a conceptual framework. Journal of International Development, 17(2), 243-257. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1212
Murtaza, K. F. (2013). Female education in Pakistan. International Journal of Management Sciences, 1(8), 266-271. https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_ied_pdcn/35/
Mushtaq, A., & Ahmed, K. (2022). Exploring Substantive Representation Role of Lady Councilors in Local Governance of South Punjab. Journal of Management Practices, Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(3), 147-155. https://doi.org/10.33152/jmphss-6.3.14
Nenova, T., Niang, C. T., & Ahmad, A. (2009). Bringing Finance to Pakistan's poor: Access to Finance for Small enterprises and the Underserved. World Bank Publications.
Paul, P. (2019). Effects of education and poverty on the prevalence of girl child marriage in India: A district–level analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 16-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.02.033
Ramanaik, S., Collumbien, M., Prakash, R., Howard-Merrill, L., Thalinja, R., Javalkar, P., Murthy, S., Cislaghi, B., Beattie, T., Isac, S., Moses, S., Heise, L., & Bhattacharjee, P. (2018). Education, poverty and "purity" in the context of adolescent girls' secondary school retention and dropout: A qualitative study from Karnataka, southern India. PLOS ONE, 13(9), e0202470. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202470
Rana, M. A. (2020). Decentralization experience in Pakistan: The 18th constitutional amendment. Asian Journal of Management Cases, 17(1), 61-84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972820119892720
Rowbotham, S. (2015). Woman's consciousness, man's world. Verso Books.
Sarker, S. I., Karim, A., & Suffiun, S. M. A. (2017). Parental educational aspiration and gender inequality of rural children in Bangladesh: the role of parental attitudes of traditional gender role, gender biased capability, and gender. Journal of International Women's Studies, 18(2), 134-142. https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol18/iss2/9
Shah, D. (2003). Country report on decentralization in the education system of Pakistan: Policies and strategies. Islamabad: Academy of Educational Planning and Management,(Islamabad), Ministry of Education.
Shah, S., & Shah, U. (2012). Girl education in rural Pakistan. Revista Internacional de Sociología de la Educación, 1(2), 180-207. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3171/317127650004.pdf
Shah, S., & Sobehart, H. (2008). Women and educational leadership in a Muslim society. Women leading education across the continents: Sharing the spirit, fanning the flame, 344-381.
Shah, S. H., Muhammad, N., & Ullah, A. (2022). The nexus between economic factors and practice of child marriage: A case study of district Mohmand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Journal of Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies, 8(1), 25-32. https://doi.org/10.26710/jafee.v8i1.2132
Shah, S., & Conchar, C. (2009). Why single‐sex schools? Discourses of culture/faith and achievement. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 191-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640902903722
Sharma, P. (2014). Oligarchic patriarchal political culture of women participation in South Asia, with special reference to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan. InResearch Paper submitted to World Congress.
Shepherd, D., Goedeke, S., Landon, J., & Meads, J. (2020). The types and functions of social supports used by parents caring for a child with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(4), 1337-1352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04359-5
Simkhada, B., Teijlingen, E. R., Porter, M., & Simkhada, P. (2008). Factors affecting the utilization of antenatal care in developing countries: Systematic review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 61(3), 244-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04532.x
Soomro, M. H., & Tanveer, S. H. (2017). Ethics and education in Pakistan: Principles, policies and practice. In Children and sustainable development (pp. 385-396). Springer.
Suleman, Q., Aslam, H. D., Habib, M. B., Yasmeen, K., Jalalian, M., Akhtar, Z., & Akhtar, B. (2015). Exploring Factors Affecting Girls' Education at Secondary Level: A Case of Karak District, Pakistan. Journal of Education and practice, 6(19), 95-109. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079529.pdf
TSUI, M., & RICH, L. (2002). The only child and educational opportunity for girls in urban China. Gender & Society, 16(1), 74-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202016001005
Ullah, A., Liqat Ali, H. A., Ali, H., Gul, S., & Tariq, M. (2020). The Ubiquitous Phenomena Of Dowry Practice And Its Relation With Women Prestige In District Swabi-Pakistan. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 17(6), 14176-14189. https://archives.palarch.nl/index.php/jae/article/view/4052
Zaidi, M. (2016). Demographic dividend, and democracy. In Pakistan's Democratic Transition (pp. 168-180). Routledge.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Syed Zuhaib Aziz, Mehnaz Begum, Aman Ullah, Maryam Imad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.