Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, holds a rich socio-cultural background that influences the educational realm of the society as well. The reputation of Balochistan from the gender equality and women empowerment perspective have been shattered due to its lack of attention towards women education. As of recent reports, the Balochistan literacy rate falls below 2% in some of its rural areas. Such statistics are neither beneficial for the Baloch society nor for the women living in Balochistan. Although, many efforts are being made by the government in this realm, there remains some profound challenges that needs to be addressed.
Among the major barrier to education in Balochistan is poverty. Although poverty does not discriminate between men and women, but the society does. The literacy rate of men is higher as compared to that of women because of lack of education mainly due to poverty. When given the choice of educating one child, the ratio of preferability given to boys is higher than that of girls. When poverty forces the parent to choose the education of men, women are exposed to another challenge in the form of early marriages. Girls marrying in their early age faces the end of their educational journey. Another significant challenge is the concern of security of the girls. In the rural regions of Balochistan, schools are usually far away from the small villages. When travelling long distance for schools, girls are exposed to many cases of harassment and violence. This security concern demotivates the parent from sending their girls to schools depriving them of their basic right. This interplay of poverty, early marriages, and security concerns are among the many challenges girls faces today in Balochistan that hampers the literacy rate of it as well as its reputation in protecting human rights.
As far as the opportunities for women’s education in Balochistan are concerned, it is evident that the government has introduced significant initiatives. The collaboration of UNICEF and EU through the Balochistan Basic Education Programme (BBEP), launched in 2016, aims at improving the education system in Balochistan motivating more students to get quality education. The BBEP has also established the Parent Teacher School Management Committees that encourage the community involvement in the educational process. Whereas, to ensure quality hygiene of the girls, the BBEP project has also launched its Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) training in schools where the teachers and students are being trained for maintaining their quality hygiene and implement such initiative required at schools for ensuring quality hygiene environment.
To effectively address the challenges facing women’s education in Balochistan, a comprehensive and multipronged approach is required. Government policies should focus on the enrollment of girls in schools especially by ensuring quality education with scholarship, stipends, and good hygienic environment. It should also aim at building more schools especially in the remote areas of Balochistan to avoid any issues of travelling. Community engagement should also be welcomed whereas awareness programs can be held to educate people about educating their girls for a brighter Balochistan, a brighter Pakistan. Along with this, the local NGOs and the International NGOs can play a critical role in providing the financial resources, expertise, and innovative ideas to ensure quality education in Balochistan. Along with that, they can play a crucial role in educating the community about education especially women’s education by doing various awareness campaign that would ensure more engagement of women in education.
In the struggle to improve female education in Balochistan, many challenges and a few opportunities await. From meager resources to remote regions with little access to education, girls face a tough struggle. Social norms and customs, including early marriage, confine many to an early end to their hopes. Nevertheless, an initiative like the Balochistan Basic Education Programme (BBEP) backed by UNICEF and the European Union, along with like-minded community governance that embraces increased awareness, strongly suggests promise. Governing educational facilities to remove gender discrimination by informing communities as to what their rights are for demanding these services is as well critical. On an international basis NGOs can provide teaching, expertise, resources, and innovative educational designs to help these changes. Education should be the necessity available to everyone regardless of its gender, if Balochistan wants to empower its society.
