Islamabad: Pakistan’s top religious council has joined forces with a leading education alliance to improve the status of girls’ education in the country.
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and Pakistan Alliance for Girls Education (PAGE) have agreed to collaborate towards the empowerment of girls through education with focus on innovative programme, projects and research methodologies.
Dr. Ikramul Haq, CII secretary and Fajer Rabia Pasha, executive director PAGE, signed the agreement in Islamabad in the presence of council Chairman Dr. Qibla Ayaz. The cooperation between the CII, a body that advises the government on religious issues, and PAGE aim to ensure education to girls across Pakistan “by co-creating meaningful linkages, purposeful partnerships and developing a shared vision”, the statement said.
“Important achievement”
Talking to Gulf News, Fajer Rabia termed it “an important achievement”. Pakistan is “still seen as a country that doesn’t support girls’ education largely because of the mindset of the traditional and religious leaders, but this commitment from the Council of Islamic Ideology and support from religious leaders sends out the right message to the world”, she said.
Pakistani organizations supporting education have long been striving to involve religious leaders to gain their support to engage and influence families and communities to get more girls into schools.
“Education of girls is considered as one of the pivotal factors for political, social and economic development of a society and our religion Islam is the proponent of peace and education without gender discrimination. If girls are neglected, maltreated and denied basic education, then our future would not be optimistic,” Fajar Rabia Pasha added.
Improving coordination
CII Chairman Qibla Ayaz called for an effective advocacy effort from local networks and support for active and effective representation and mentoring of girls across Pakistan. “We should also look for ways to implement the principle of equality in Islam within the context of educational policy-making, legislation and oversight processes” he added.
Under the joint project, innovative projects will be launched jointly to ensure quality girls’ education besides sharing of knowledge, expertise in strengthening this mutual collaboration.
Nearly 55 per cent of Pakistan’s 22 million out-of-school children are girls. PAGE aims to achieve gender equality by engaging with public and private stakeholders to implement the basic right to education for all children (age 5-16) and by building more schools, training teachers, and improving coordination among relevant departments.
