Inspired by the International
Women’s Day, i teamed up with a group of mainly women bloggers and a few
men allies to take part in a blogathon to commemorate the International
Women’s day. The piece below is an outcome from the blogathon. The
blogathon was put together by the Wellbeing foundation, Education as a
Vaccine, Youthhubafrica, and the Nigerian Youth Climate Coalition
Many people around the world first heard
about Malala On 9 October 2012, when she was shot in the head and neck
in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a
school bus. In the days immediately following the attack, she remained
and in critical condition in the hospital. There was a lot of buzz
across the world on news channels, social media platforms and in
Pakistan, her home country.Apparently, the Taliban had attempted to take
her life because of her advocacy and outspokenness on girl education in
Pakistan. Luckily she survived.
3 years before she was shot, at age 11, Malala first wrote a blog piece titled ‘Diary of a Pakistani School girl’
for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban rule, their attempts to
take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for
girls. The following summer, the New York times shot a documentary about
her life. She continued to advocate for girls education in the Swat
district’s of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a region
previously controlled by the Taliban and where girl’s education was a
taboo.
To understand the barirers and norms that Malala fought against, you need to take a look at education statistics in Pakistan.
Official statistics released by the
Federal Education Ministry of Pakistan gives a desperate picture of
education for all, espcially for girls. The overall literacy rate is 46
per cent, while only 26 per cent of girls are literate. There are
163,000 primary schools in Pakistan, of which merely 40,000 cater to
girls.
Similarly, out of a total 14,000 lower
secondary schools and 10,000 higher secondary schools, 5,000 and 3,000
respectively are for girls, in the same decreasing proportions as above
in the four provinces. There are around 250 girls colleges, and two
medical colleges for women in the public sector of 125 districts. Some 7
million girls under 10 go to primary schools, 5.4 million between 10
and 14 attend lower secondary school, and 3 million go to higher
secondary schools. About 1.5 million and 0.5 million girls respectively
go to higher secondary schools/colleges and universities.
Pakistan is not alone in girls lagging
behind boys in accessing education and its not for a lack of interest,
it is mainly as a result of cultural, religious and partriachal
inhibitions. From Uganda to Nigeria to Congo, the story is the same. In
many places, when families are faced with a choice, they often times
prefer to educate the boys while the girls sit at home to run house-hold
chores.
Malala’s courage and her activism has inspired hundreds of people worldwide. She has become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize nominee in History.
Former British Prime Minister and current U.N. Special Envoy for Global
Education Gordon Brown launched a United Nations petition in Malala’s
name, using the slogan “I am Malala” and demanding that all children
worldwide be in school by the end of 2015. U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon has announced that 10 November will be celebrated as Malala Day.
Whether she becomes a Nobel Peace Prize
winner or not, Malala will remain a symbol of courage, strenght and an
inspiration for girls worldwide to take a chance, surmount the
difficulties and get an education!
by Rotimi Olawale.
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