A fund has been established in the name of Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl shot by the Taliban, to tackle access to education for children in Pakistan.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has awarded $7 million (#163;4.3 million) to projects that aim to halve the gap between the numbers of girls and boys who attend school within three years.
“Families want to send girls to school but they want safe, quality education,” said Irina Bokova, director general of Unesco. “Schools need to be located closer to families and sharper policies put in place to reach (more children).”
Pakistan’s minister of state for education, Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman, said that the government intended to narrow the gap between boys and girls attending primary school from 10 percentage points to 5.
Malala lived in the Swat Valley, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when she was shot in 2012 for speaking out about the right of girls to attend school. The 16-year-old now lives in Birmingham, England, and has recently been nominated for the World Children’s Prize, also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize.
Children in 108 countries will vote through their schools for the winner of the prize, which is awarded by the World Children’s Prize Foundation.
BOYS
Proportions of boys and girls attending state schools in rural areas
Balochistan 71%
Federally Administrated Tribal Areas 74%
Gilgit Baltistan 64%
Islamabad Capital Territory 57%
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 67%
Punjab 59%
Sindh 66%
Azad Jammu and Kashmir 54%
Proportions of Out-of-school boys and girls by wealth
Poorest 33%
Poorer 23%
Richer 21%
Richest 14%
Proportions of boys and girls attending state schools in rural areas
GIRLS
Balochistan 29%
Federally Administrated Tribal Areas 26%
Gilgit Baltistan 36%
Islamabad Capital Territory 43%
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 33%
Punjab 41%
Sindh 34%
Azad Jammu and Kashmir 46%
Proportions of Out-of-school boys and girls by wealth
Poorest 53%
Poorer 37%
Richer 32%
Richest 20%
Annual Status of Education Report Pakistan 2013, Provisional, published 16 January 2014. bit.lypakistan_annual_status.
