Reducing the Gender Gap in

Muslim Societies:

The Case of Pakistan

Ana Komnenic, Anita Tavra, Eliana Chia
Dr. Muhammad Iqbal



The Maria-Helena Foundation
www.mariahelenafoundation.org

The Case of Pakistan
The Benefits and Limitations of
Education as a Development Tool
Getting to know Pakistan
Life in a patriarchal society.
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF
PAKISTAN
95% OF POPULATION IS MUSLIM
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION, 5000
YEARS
POPULATION OF 187 MILLION
Education in Pakistan
Low attendance at primary and
secondary schools.
Government vs private
education and the problem of
corruption.
Non-Formal Basic Education reaching girls.
Lack of educational resources.
In practice, no universal or
compulsory primary public
education system.
Worldmapper: Primary education
spending
Country size is based on the proportion of all spending on primary
education, measured in purchasing power parity.

Between 1998-2008, Pakistan allocated 2% of the central government
expenditure to education (UNICEF, 2011)
Worlds bottom 10
for female primary
school enrollment.
High drop out
rates, especially in
rural areas.
Lowest literacy
rates in South Asia
Contrast between
political
environment and
cultural attitudes.
The Situation for Girls
Why the Gender Gap in Education?
Higher earnings for males
The social organization of families.
Children as a form of insurance.
Protecting honour and modesty.
Better returns for female education...
Monazza Aslam
Estimated economic returns for
female education is higher than
for males at all education levels.
Importance of low level
education.
Reasons?


5 dollars invested in female
education is worth 100 dollars
invested in economy
Moral of this story?
Invest in female education
Investment in Female Literacy has the
Biggest Bang for The Buck
Female Literacy Rate
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Connecting Female Literacy to Human Security

Comparing Female Literacy and
Fertility Rates
0
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0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Empowering women through higher education
What are the benefits of higher
education for women?
(1) Awareness of legal rights
(2) Economic independence
(3) Better civil society
participation
What are the limitations?
Cultural norms as barriers to legal rights.
Education biases.
How the Maria-Helena Foundation is reducing
the gender gap
MHF has 13 primary schools where more than 200 women are
employed.
MHF has 2 vocational training schools in which several
teachers are employed and are training women for the
garment industry.
MHF has several scholarships for women only in middle and
high schools.
As we believe women should have a voice at the decision
making level, MHF has persuaded one of its conservative
partner NGOs to have 3 women on its board. .

One of the Maria Helena Foundations
primary schools
One of Maria Helena Foundations
vocational schools
References
Aslam, Monazza. Rate of Return to Education by Gender in Pakistan. 2007. Oxford: Global
Poverty Research Group.
Bilquees, Faiz, and Najam Us Saqib. 2004. Drop-Out Rates and Inter-School Movements:
Evidence from Panel Data. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
Malik, Samina, and Kathy Courtney. 2010. Higher education and womens empowerment in
Pakistan. Gender and Education 23(1): 29-45.
United Nations Childrens Fund. 2011. Adolescence: An Age of Opportunity. The State of
the Worlds Children, 2011. New York, NY: UNICEF.


THE END