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Radicals targeting girls' schools in NWFP
There is a province-wide onslaught on girls schools, video stores and barber shops in the NWFP by the resurgent radicals, their supporters and sympathisers, according to a report in the Christian Science Monitor on Thursday.These three, viewed as symbols of Western-oriented life are being destroyed by religious extremists in a growing wave of violence. Islamist militants have a new target, and if they are successful, it could be disastrous for Pakistans future. Four girls schools have been bombed and violent threats have been circulated that girls should stay home. While no girls or school staff have been killed, girls in some areas have stopped attending classes, marking a direct blow to Pakistans national enterprise of enlightened moderation, which posits female education as a central pillar, the report points out. According to the Monitor correspondent, Pakistan finds itself at a precarious tipping point: tremendous gains have been made in female education in recent years, but a considerable gender gap remains. Extremists efforts to undermine education for women, who are historically one of Pakistans most potent forces of moderation, could further empower Pakistans growing ranks of Islamist militants. The continuing wave of attacks could tilt Pakistans sensitive political balance and hurt crucial economic development efforts. As female education improves, infant mortality rates tend to decrease, family health improves, national incomes rise, and female citizens become more politically active and aware of their rights, say development experts. The report notes that entrenched tribal, religious, and economic imperatives in conservative areas regard the schooling of girls as either improper, since girls should not venture outside the purview of the family home, or unnecessary, since girls are often needed for work. As a result, Pakistan has one of the highest rates of female illiteracy in South Asia, at about 60 percent, and the lowest rate of primary school enrolment for girls, at somewhere between 42 and 48 percent. Those shortcomings are particularly pronounced in the NWFP, which, as of 2004, had the lowest ratio of female enrolment of any province in Pakistan, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG). In areas like FATA, only 1 percent of women and girls are literate. The issue has become even more of a battleground in recent years, as resurgent Islamic extremism bumps heads with the governments recent efforts to expand girls education. Posted by: Fred 2007-06-01 |
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