This month, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Pakistan’s State Minister for Education, Muhammad Baleeghur Rehman, signed the Malala Funds-in-Trust agreement, which commits $7 million to improving access to and quality of girls’ education in Pakistan’s remote rural areas. “Education in today’s world is not a choice but a fundamental right of every child. Government is responsible morally, ethically and constitutionally to provide education for every child regardless of creed or gender,” said Minister of State baligh ur-Rehman.
There are more than 3.8 girls in Pakistan who are out of school, and those in school are more likely to drop out than boys. The program’s goal is to reduce the gender gap between girls and boys—which currently stands at 10 per cent—down to five per cent within three years. A 2002 study, the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey, found that a huge disparity in access to education between boys and girls: 34 percent of sampled rural areas reported no access to a girls’ primary school, compared to 15 per cent for boys.
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Written by Alex Leedom