Girls education faces challenges in Muslim countries: PM
Shehbaz Sharif addresses international conference in Islamabad and calls for utilization of more resources to promote female education.
ISLAMABAD: Representatives of governments and private sectors and educationists from universities including Al-Azhar University of Egypt are attending a two-day conference of girls education in Muslim countries in Islamabad.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony on Sunday, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that like in many other countries girls’ education was facing challenges in Pakistan and the government was utilizing all available resources to promote it and achieve desired results.
The prime minister emphasized that this cause is worth fighting for, worth committing resources to and worth advocating for.
“Despite our rich legacy, the Muslim world including Pakistan faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls.”
He was of the view that not providing education to girls was like denying them their voice and the choice while depriving them of their right to a bright future.
The prime minister also highlighted the issue of out of school children in Pakistan and said that Alarmingly, he said around 22.8 million children in the age bracket of five to sixteen years are out of school and a disproportionate number of them wad of girls.
A number of agreements were signed on the occasion to promote collaboration among different countries aimed at promoting education among girls.
The Grand Mufti a day earlier announced that a campus of Al-Azhar University will be opened in Pakistan.