varies over an extremely wide range of programmes and skills, but it is always evident.
Why is the growth of female literacy in Pakistan so slow? The author identifies the
following factors by way of explanation: negative attitudes of the family at birth; low
societal status; continued feudalism; patriarchy; an obscurantist view of Islam which
supports male vested interests; restricted mobility; low perception of female potential
leading to low enrolments in schools (where they exist) and high wastage rates; poor
quality literacy materials, again, where they exist at all. Working from an earlier (1991)
study of the causative factors of female illiteracy, the author illustrates that among the
sample studied (c 1000) from low income localities in Karachi, most girls- c 76 per cent
- had never been to school. Major factors were identified as: poverty; cultural
blockages; the opposition of fathers to daughter's schooling; lack of interest among girls
in education.
Despite this picture of widespread low self-esteem and low ascribed status the Karachi
study showed that at least 70 per cent of the girls wanted to study and hope to do so one
day through acquiring literacy skills. Clearly in Pakistan the combination of rural and
the urban poor in one of the world's least developed economies represents a massive
challenge for the young of both sexes, but in trying to respond they begin from different
starting lines - the girls having to do more to reach the goal.
CHOWDHURY, Kowsar P. (1996) Pakistan, in: MAK, Grace C.L. Women,
Education and Development in Asia: Cross-National Perspectives, Garland
Publishing, New York and London, 187-215.
Like India, Pakistan inherited its modem education system on independence in 1947, by
which time ancient traditions of educational opportunity for females had been
drastically eroded. This situation has been further enhanced by increasing economic
disparity between rich and poor, urban and rural and to some extent between ethnic
groups. Within this generally worsening situation for the poorer sections of society the
welfare and productivity of women in Pakistan rank almost the lowest in the world.
This chapter recognises four main categories of indicators of women's welfare,
productivity and therefore, status: mortality rate and life expectancy; human resources
development - including education; women's role in lowering the birth rate;
participation in the economy and contribution to household income. In summary, and
put together, these four indices show a picture of a strikingly negative sex ratio in
female terms due to dire health circumstances; very low educational status, therefore
virtually no human resource development; inability to help reduce the birth rate or to
make any telling contribution to economic growth, even at local level.
The situation had not been addressed in any significant way until the Sixth Five Year
Plan (1983-88) which officially endorsed the integration of women into national