To help Malala, back girls’ education
AS young Malala Yousafzai fights for her life, we all remain in shock and outrage over such a brutal attack on a 14-year-old girl.
What this vicious murderous attack has demonstrated is how threatened extremists groups such as the Taliban are by educated women and girls.
In such a destabilised patriarchal country as Pakistan, comprehensive education for women and girls is rarely attained and, in some instances, denied with brutal violence.
So why do these issues persist? At its core, the issue is one of poverty. Pakistan has more than more than one-fifth of its population living on less than $1.25 a day. These conditions disproportionately affect women and girls who are often denied opportunities for education and participation in civil life.
It is estimated the likelihood of women and girls completing secondary school is half those of their male counterparts.
Extremist groups such as the Taliban reign and exploit an uneducated population with their control and repression. Women become the focal points of social and political control.
That’s why education of women and girls is key to ending discrimination and oppression against Pakistan’s female population.
As the saying goes, ‘‘knowledge is power’’.
Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan summarised the situation beautifully when he said: ‘‘There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.’’
The most dangerous tool against extremists such as the Taliban is an educated female population. Its reign is undermined when women and girls rise up and stare such brutality in the face, demanding an end to their terror, as brave Malala did.
Indeed, Pakistan has a long history of strong females rising up against the severe and often lifethreatening forms of misogyny and gender discrimination.
Asma Jihangir, deemed one of Pakistan’s great daughters, led the human rights movement in Pakistan and internationally through her UN postings. She has been a constant source of difficulty for patriarchal regimes in Pakistan.
She has spent her career defending human rights, with a focus on the rights of women and children in Pakistan.
Asma, like many others, has been beaten and attacked for activism and speaking up.
On meeting Asma, I asked how it was she continued in such difficult circumstances.
She said that to remain silent was torture itself, a familiar sentiment shared by many fiercely strong feminists I know from the Muslim and Arab world.
The Western world has quite a great deal to learn from female change agents such as Malala and Asma, who continue to fight for equality and opportunity despite brutal injustice.
Their passion and bravery is a beacon for us all to follow and be inspired to stand in solidarity.
Indeed, the best way to support women and girls in Pakistan is to support education initiatives and development programs in our own foreign-aid program.
Australian aid has helped improve educational access for girls and women in Pakistan, like in Balochistan. This resulted in 46,000 girls enrolled in primary school with an 89 per cent retention rate.
We should be inspired to act just like brave Malala.