By: HASHIM ABRO
It is a devastating reality that millions of female children in Pakistan never go to school. While visiting various villages in my home district, I concluded that nothing has been done to pull down the barriers that keep girls from attending school and begin to bring a change for women in rural areas. Of course, dozens of international organizations are working in Pakistan today, many of those in KPK and other parts of the country, to improve the livelihood of impoverished people.
I wish that those NGOs would work in Sindh areas and build infrastructure and provide aid, vocational training, and education programs for women. They may give the poor families resources to create a healthy and stable life. I am confident that with practical help and encouragement- not cosmetic help and measures- girls are more likely to enroll and stay in school. However UNICEF and other international organizations must come up with strategies for girls’ education in remote areas.
Had the present government begun to change the lives of women in the province by making a financial gift or raising awareness about girls there it would have helped in development. International organizations such as UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNESCO, USAID, CIDA, etc. are requested to help raise awareness on the issues that impact children in the rural and remote areas. Indeed, education and awareness would also stand in good stead to end gender discrimination in those backward areas.