First International Day of the Girl Child: An Opportunity to Review Policies and Societal Attitudes
By Amir Murtaza
October 10, 2012
The First International Day of the Girl Child is taking place on 11th October 2012. On 19th December 2011, the United
Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. The
occasion aims to highlight the difficulties and barriers faced by young girls in their social and economic development.
No one can deny that education is the right of every human, either male or female; however, in Pakistan girls,
especially in rural areas of the country are still struggling to have this fundamental right. And because of this,
Pakistan is quite far to achieve the Millennium development Goal of Universal Education by 2015.
The First International Day of the Girl Child provides an opportunity to review and reflect upon the existing polices
and societal attitudes, placing hindrances in girls’ education and overall development in the country.
Humaira Munir, a social sciences researcher, informed that according to the available data, “The overall literacy rate
in Pakistan is 58%; with male literacy stands at 69%, and females at 45%. Around 7 million children aged 5 to 9 are not
enrolled in schools, whereas more than 30 million children aged 4 to 16 have no access to education.” She added that
according to a report by UN Education, Science, Culture Organization (UNESCO) in 2010, around 30% of Pakistan population
lives in “extreme educational poverty” with less than two years of education. It is redundant to say that girls formed a
major portion of this group.
The Constitution of Pakistan in its Article 25A pertaining to Right to Education states that, “The State shall provide
free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by
law.” Additionally, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 in Article 26 (1) states that,
“Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.
Elementary education shall be compulsory.” Furthermore, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Article 28
and Article 29 also emphasized on the Right of the Child to get Education.
However the parents of Kausar, a thirteen year old resident of a village near Hyderabad, are not aware of any local or
international legislation regarding the importance of education. Kausar has never had the opportunity to get enrolled in
any school despite the fact that a government school is located quite near to her house. She had only learnt some
chapters of Holy Quran from her grandmother. She narrated that, “My parents are illiterate; however, two of my brothers
are getting education. My elder sister got married at the age of fifteen and now my parents are trying hard to arrange
my marriage. My parents are absolutely not in favor of girl’s education though I had shown my desire to get education on
several times.”
Parveen is a close friend of Kausar, and at the age of fifteen she is a mother of an infant girl. Parveen also never
attended any formal or informal schooling system as her parents wanted to arrange her marriage, even when she was twelve
year old. Parveen said that, “One of my brothers is studying in Hyderabad but my father never allowed me to even attend
the local school.” Parveen’s husband is a semi literate young man who is in favor of educating his newborn girl.
Unlike Kausar and Parveen, Azeema had the opportunity to attend the school; however, she did not get the permission to
continue her education when she was studying in fourth grade. Azeema informed that, “I was allowed to get education
because my father was in favour of education. However, I was withdrawn from the school because my mother was pregnant at
that time and I had to cook and do other domestic work for my family.” Azeema, also fifteen year old, got married
recently and now spending ten to twelve hours daily to fulfil her domestic duties.
There have been consistent efforts to enhance the status of girl child by the government, legislators, civil society
organizations and media. It is a fact that girls still belong to one of most neglected sections of the society. Many
families prefer to have boys and the birth of a girl child is not desired by a majority of parents.
Kareema Bibi has three daughters and two sons. Both of her sons are getting education; however, none of her daughters
had the opportunity to attend the school. Kareema Bibi maintained that, “These girls will get married very soon and
therefore my husband is trying to earn as much money as possible to arrange dowry for them. I am fully convinced that
any investment on their education is a sheer wastage of money.” Kareema Bibi is aware of the importance of education and
she believed that both of her sons will get very good jobs after finishing their education.
According to different media reports about 37 per cent women in the country get married before reaching the age of 18
years. The phenomenon of early marriage is more prevalent in rural areas and according to a newspaper report, “An
official informed that, his NGO had conducted a survey in six districts of rural areas and found that 61 per cent women
get married before reaching the age of 18 years.”
A nexus between low literacy rate among girls or women and early marriages is crystal clear. Early marriages are
certainly a phenomenon that has been in practice in South Asia for a very long time. Laws related to early marriages are
available in Pakistan; additionally, the successive governments have also ratified international legislations pertaining
to the protection of children. It is often regarded that weak implementation of legal instruments along with abhorrent
cultural norms is the major cause of early marriages. Treating girls and women as weak, inferior, and a burden, by the
wider part of the society, has also exposed them to numerous violations of their fundamental rights. And the situation
is liable to continue until and unless concrete practical steps are not taken by all segments of the society.
On the occasion of First International Day of the Girl Child, it is absolutely necessary that government, civil society
organizations and media should devise long and short term policies to eliminate inherent bias against the girl child.
Additionally, consistent efforts are required to make people aware about the fundamental rights of girl child, as
outlined in national and international legislation.
ENDS