The concept of right and its relation to education
A right to education is considered to be an important and fundamental right for every human being irrespective of class, creed or gender. With the advent of globalisation the importance of the women’s education is coincided with the women empowerment. In this regards, this research is going to take a deep look on the violation of the rights to education for women in the context of Pakistan. In order to discuss the research proposal the discussion addresses a number of approaches that are intertwined with the topic and proceed to establish a firm base for the research.
Background
Before going to discuss about the scenario of the right of education for women in Pakistan it is imperative to get a glimpse of the prevailing nature and understanding of the ideology of right and its relation to education. In a general aspect it can be argued that rights are defined distinctively in different cultures and societies. Hence, from a general perspective, it can be asserted that right is a privilege or opportunity that an individual is entitled to pursue[1]. In other words, rights are referred as the privilege that an individual is deserved without any obligation or social taboos. In this regards, there are various aspects that can identified rights in a distinct manner. For instance, the rights from a dialectical approach opine that the some rights are reciprocal to other rights in such a manner that to maintain a right one has to lose the others. In this regards, the rationale in support of the rights is considered to be very relevant. It can be argued that rights are valid and justifiable in order to maintain the independence of an individual.
In course of this discussion a relevant argument has come forwards in maintaining a relation to the education. The advent of Neo-liberalism transcends the notion of rights and as a result of that various aspects are going to incorporate in the discussion in the form of education or freedom of speech. In addition to this, the development of education as a right is also very important to address[2]. The concept of hegemony propounded by Gramsci is highly related to this discussion. It argued that the good sense of working class parents have a support to the corporate charter schools[3]. In the same connotations, it can be stated that the neoliberal progress and the choice of power among the parents leads to a good environment for education and also provides safe learning abilities for the children[4]. As a matter of fact, the UN charter of 1979 promoted some radical steps by implementing a Convention against Discrimination in Education based on the Articles of 3 and 4. According to this convention, education is considered to be free and compulsory which in return paved the way for the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
The prevailing scenario of women education in western countries
However the concern for Women education was still in its nascent phase and ushered a lot of violence in the global platform. A study in the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women identified that there were a series of violence on the question of women rights to get education in the country. In this context, it can be asserted that the practice of Women education was prevailed at that time but there bullying and humiliating women in their classrooms was a common phenomenon and often they were sexually abused because of their gender distinctiveness. Furthermore, a report dated back to the 1982 was exposed the pathetic nature of the educational system prevailed in the western continent. According to the report in the western countries at least 38 percent women were sexually harassed and abused by adults before the age of 18[5]. Furthermore, the Badgley report of 1984 expressed that approximately 54 percent of the females in their teenage brutally sexually and mentally[6]. The most astonishing case was that most of these practice were done in the schools and learning institutions[7]. It is not a surprising fact if anyone has the knowledge of the past. In its pinnacle the Greek civilisation also possessed the idea of women are inferior to their male counterparts intellectually and educated women were identified as the evil to both individual and the society[8]. As a result of that since the ancient times women remained in the back foot and tried to get elevate in the course of the historical movements.
In the context of the developed world during the early 1900s and 20th century, it can be figured out that people or especially the male individuals in the society were not bothered about the education of the females. Women education was projected negatively and warned the male individuals of the society to keep the women aloof from the education. Therefore, it can be argued that in the early phase of the modern period till 2000s the western society was not so liberal progressive enough as it was supposed to. However, there were some learned female scholars who stood against the tradition of the society and fought for their rights. On the contrary, the same tradition of the earlier phase in the western world has been still existed even after the advent of globalisation. According to the US Agency for International Development and the World Bank 57 percent of the 72 million primary schools aged children who do not attend school are females[9]. In fact, in every income bracket there is less number of female students than male ones in the educational institutions. Furthermore, the global statistical report showed that among the 774 million illiterate adults worldwide there are 64 percent women[10]. Due to this lack of female students in the global education scenario the United Nations implemented the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women[11].
The global scenario of women education
For an instance, it can be articulated that Nigeria has poorly performed in the equality in gender. According to the 2012 government report of Nigeria, the country ranked 118 out of the 134 countries in the Gender Equality Index. In addition to this, the report also showed that in the Northern part of Nigeria, more than two third of the Nigerian girls with an age of 15 to 19 years are unable to reads or write a sentence[12]. Based on this global scenario it is important to get a clear picture of the right to women education in Pakistan.
Before going into the scenario of the Pakistan it is important to understand the prevailing trend of women education in South Asia. In case of the higher education, the South Asian countries do not have the proper infrastructure to transcend the value of education and inspire the female students to pursue their dream[13]. In this regards, it can be articulated that the south Asian countries do not have universities that ranked top 200 international universities[14]. In fact, in the tertiary sector, the number of female students is 74 where as the number of male students is calculated to 100[15]. As a matter of fact, the report of 2009 expressed that 19% of the professors in UK are women, 20% in Norway whereas in Honk Kong the percentage is accounted 0%[16]. This kind of inequality is considered to be high in case of the South Asia. There are a number of factors responsible for the poor situation in education for women in this region[17]. It can be argued the religion and social prejudices are considered to be the pivotal factor in this regards. The conservative ideologies and practices create a situation hostile for women education. In fact, the society does not want to give their women the opportunity to get educated. Besides this, lack of government interests as well as the dearth of adequate infrastructure further perturb the situation and make it hostile for the women to become literate[18].
According to most of the journals and peer reviewed articles it can be argued that the Pakistani society witnesses the existence of a male chauvinism across the country. The practice of male domination and the state oriented practices make the country inhospitable for the practice of women education[19]. However, the country had witnessed female personalities in various aspects in the name of Benazir Bhutto, Hina Rabbani Khar in politics. On the other hand there are female personalities like Mukhtaran Bibi or Malala Yusafzai who were and are famous for their individual achievements and international roles[20]. Despite of the presence of these personalities the country is succumbed into the war and atrocities. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2012, it can be argued that Pakistan ranks the 134th out of 135 countries among the worst living places for Women across the world. In fact, the UN report of Gender Inequality Index ranked Pakistan at 123 out of the 148 countries around the world [21]. In fact, the existence of Islam can be identified as a detrimental factor for the education of women in Pakistan. In Pakistan, the legislation of the country is doing a commendable task by taking initiatives on behalf of protecting the human rights of the Pakistani women. As a matter of fact, the convention for Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is considered to be significant. Moreover, Article 25 of the Pakistani legislation introduces some provision to safeguard the interests of the women [22]. Despite of all the measures, there is less initiatives taken by the government or the legislative in order to spread education among the women. Recently, in 2014, the Punjab administration in Pakistan promulgated the free and compulsory education for every child including the women between the age of 5 and 16 years [23].
Factors Responsible for the prevailing scenario of women education in South Asia
Aims and objectives
The aim of the research is to figure out the possible reasons behind the nature of women education in Pakistan. There is a continuous practice among the Pakistani citizens to prohibit their female counterparts in getting proper education as similar to the males. Moreover, the aim is of the discussion is to underline the prolong tendency of male domination inside the country. In course of the discussion the social status of the women in Pakistan is also considered to be under the investigation of the research. The objective, as a result of that connotes the perception about the position and status of the women education in the Pakistani society and figure out the possible reasons behind in unpleasant condition of women education in the country. Therefore, the objectives of the research are as follows,
- To identify the key social factors regarding women education in Pakistan.
- To analyse the religious factors that violation the international rights to women education in Pakistan.
- To figure out the role of the government in order to safeguard the educational rights of the women in Pakistan.
- To assess the relation between the international situation and the scenario of educational rights for women in Pakistan.
In course of the research there are two important questions aligned with the research in the form of
- What are major legislative provisions that withheld the educational progress of women in Pakistan?
- How far the government is responsible to safeguard the rights of education for women in Pakistan?
- Do the religious underpinnings have any relation in violating the educational rights of the women in Pakistan?
- Do the international movements for Women’s educational rights have any impact on the protest against the violation of educational rights of the women in Pakistan?
Women empowerment has become a key concern across the globe nowadays. In this regards, it can be argued that the education is a determinant factors that can help to facilitate progress in the situation of women by providing safeguard to the rights of education for women. Moreover, it can be argued that gender studies has become a growing trend among researches and ample of prospects and opportunities that lead to developing an understanding on it.
Outlines
The research encompasses a number of research options with a variety of resources. In this regards, the research is going to start with an introductory part where the theme of the research with the identification of the thematic approach has to be addressed. Moreover, the introduction is briefing a glimpse of the structure of the entire discussion. After that, the research context is primarily dealt with the background of the topic. The background comprises of the different approaches that are taken as a research in this regards. It can be identified as a literature review to some extent that highlights the previous researches and create an understanding of the uniqueness of the recent research in compare to the previous studies. The research context is also comprised with the idea of the present case scenario of the topic or the theme of research. The next point is referred as the research question. This is considered to be one of the important aspects of the research proposal as the research questions provide the thrust or the focal point of the discussion. At the same time, it encapsulates the possible approaches that the researcher is like to be addressed. This part is also discussing the aims and objectives of the researcher in order to make the research relevant and successful. After that the research methodology is considered to be the important part of the research proposal. It can be argued that the research methodology is the backbone of the whole research framework. Most of the success of the research is depended upon its methodology. In this regards, the methodology of this research is also discussing the way the entire process has been furnished. In addition to this, the research methodology is comprised of different resources and field works. Besides this, the related laws and regulations are also incorporated in the methodology. Then, the proposal puts its focus on the significance o the research. The significance of the research deals with the motive and purposes in conducting the research. In this context, the significance of the research outlines the various plans and programs that are used during conducting the research. Finally, the research proposal reflects a conclusion part that is going to encapsulate the entire discussion with an understanding of whether the research fulfils the underlined questions and how far the research is relevant and important.
Impact of Islam on women education in Pakistan
The research is primarily based on a number of secondary sources in terms of books and articles. The secondary sources are very helpful to get a clear picture of the previous researches in this field and help the researcher to set his particular research objectives. In this regards, the research has been conducted having reference from the official websites as well. For instance, for the government regulations the research seeks the help of the official website of the government of Pakistan. Moreover, to get a perception of the ideas and concepts regarding educational rights and figure out its relation with the women empowerment the research is going to look through the official websites of United Nations. Therefore, it can be argued that the secondary research is mostly based on the digital resources in the form of articles, journals, books and official websites.
Lack of evidences is considered to be the major problem while conducting the research. As a matter of fact, the government failed to provide adequate reports regarding the educational initiatives for the Women. Therefore, the research compelled to depend on the individual and privates reports only.
In the current scenario, the fight for women empowerment has become a global issue. In the case of Middle East and Asian countries, culture, social standing and religious issues have higher level of impact on the position of women in the society. In these countries, women are subjected to violence. They are being tortured and differentiated from the society. It has been identified that in the in the extreme cases, the women are being tortured by their own brother, father and husband. Therefore, this can be said that due to this kind of violence against women, it has become a common issue in the current society. Due to lack of proper education, females are being tortured by the male dominants in the society. Therefore, this has become very important to provide proper education to the women, for bringing their development in the society. After the globalization, various changes have been introduced in the society. People have become more organized and aware about their rights. In the current scenario, Women empowerment has become an important initiative in the society. Education is the part of empowerment. If the scenario is being analysed in the context of Pakistan, it will be identified that after the globalization, involvement of women in the educational sector has increased. However, it has been also analysed that large number of women are still being tortured by the male dominants. If the global scenario is being analysed, it will be identified that the women are being treated as the cheap labour. In the case of Asian countries, large numbers of women are being forced in prostitution. It is very unfortunate that the rate of abortion of female fates has increased mostly in the developing countries. In these countries, large numbers of violence are being covered up due to lack of witness. Most of them are being threatened by the society. Women and girls are being abused in daily basis. Therefore, it is very important to get educated in order to bring the social economic growth. The educated is the only way which can help a woman to escape from poverty. After the various initiatives taken by the government, the women are enforced in leading the productive life. Women education is also very important in the case of developing the vesting standard. The rate of human trafficking can be reduced. On the other hand, with the increasing women education, the literacy rate will also get improved. The common issues in the society such as early marriage, abortion and poverty can be reduced. With the women education GDP rate and political representation of women can be improved. As the rate of domestic violence has increased, with the increasing rate of social violence the governmental and non-governmental organizations have started taking various initiatives for improving the position of the women in society. Therefore, this can be said that education is highly required for improving the position of women and avoiding the violence in society.
Existing laws and regulations in Pakistan to safeguard women’s education
Conclusion
The research is fully dedicated to the underlined aims and objectives of the research. However, reluctance from the Pakistani government made it complicated to access government reports on women education. Despite of the fact, it can be stated that the research is very unique and opens up a new dimension in the course of gender studies.
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[1] Horsman, J. (2013). Too scared to learn: Women, violence, and education. Routledge.
[2] Lipman, P. (2013). The new political economy of urban education: Neoliberalism, race, and the right to the city. Taylor & Francis.
[3] Bhattacharya, S. (2014). “Status of women in Pakistan.” Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan 51.1.
[4] Jackson, G., & Allan, S. (2011). Fundamental Elements in a Child’s Right to Education: A Study of Home Education Research and Regulation in Australia.
[5] Purewal, N., & Hashmi, N. (2015). Between returns and respectability: parental attitudes towards girls’ education in rural Punjab, Pakistan. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(7), 977-995.
[6] Zakar, R., Zakar, M. Z., & Kraemer, A. (2013). Men’s beliefs and attitudes toward intimate partner violence against women in Pakistan. Violence against women, 19(2), 246-268.
[7] Coppock, V., Haydon, D., & Richter, I. (2014). The illusions of post-feminism: New women, old myths. Routledge.
[8] Khurshid, A. (2015). Islamic traditions of modernity: Gender, class, and Islam in a transnational women’s education project. Gender & Society, 29(1), 98-121.
[9] Morley, L., & Crossouard, B. (2015). Women in higher education leadership in South Asia: Rejection, refusal, reluctance, revisioning.
[10] Hlatshwayo, M., & Vally, S. (2014). Violence, resilience and solidarity: The right to education for child migrants in South Africa. School psychology international, 35(3), 266-279.
[11] Paxton, P., & Hughes, M. M. (2015). Women, politics, and power: A global perspective. CQ Press.
[12] Bukhari, F. Y., & Ramzan, M. (2013). Gender Discrimination: A myth or truth Women status in Pakistan. Journal of Business and Management, 8(2), 88-97.
[13] Sadruddin, M. M. (2013). Sexual Harassment at Workplace in Pakistan-Issues and Remedies about the Global Issue at Managerial Sector. Journal of Managerial Sciences, 7(1).
[14] Tarar, M. G., & Pulla, V. (2014). Patriarchy, gender violence and poverty amongst Pakistani women: A social work inquiry. International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice, 2(2), 56-63.
[15] Morley, L., & Crossouard, B. (2015). Women in higher education leadership in South Asia: Rejection, refusal, reluctance, revisioning.
[16] McClelland, A. E. (2014). The education of women in the United States: A guide to theory, teaching, and research. Routledge.
[17] Aja-Okorie, U. (2013). Women education in Nigeria: Problems and implications for family role and stability. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 9(28).
[18] Ambreen, M., & Mohyuddin, A. (2013). Gender biased parental attitudes towards education: A case study of village dasuha, district Faisalabad. Academic Research International, 4(1), 140.
[19] Jamal, A. (2013). Jamaat-e-Islami Women in Pakistan: Vanguard of a New Modernity?. Syracuse University Press.
[20] Mustafa, G., Azmat, S. K., Hameed, W., Ali, S., Ishaque, M., Hussain, W., … & Munroe, E. (2015). Family planning knowledge, attitudes, and practices among married men and women in rural areas of Pakistan: Findings from a qualitative need assessment study. International journal of reproductive medicine, 2015.
[21] Ahmad, I., Said, H., Hussain, A., & Khan, S. (2014). Barriers To Co-Education In Pakistan And Its Implications On Girls Education: Critical Review Of Literature. Science International, 26(1).
[22] Zia, M. (2014). .. “Legislative Initiatives On Women In Pakistan – Need For Self-Critique And Reassessment”. Legislative Watch, (43), 1-8. Retrieved from https://www.af.org.pk/newsl/1402998220.pdf. 2014
[23] Malik, M. (2014). “Free And Compulsory Education Is Now A Law.” Dawn. [online] Available at: https://www.dawn.com/news/1106465. 2014 [Accessed 17 Jun. 2018].
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