Impact of terrorism on female education in North West of Pakistan

 

Education is one of the fundamental rights of a human being and is consider as a distinction between human and beast. In the male dominated society of Pakistan women has always remained confined in a compound especially in northern built of Pakistan. The female education in North West of Pakistan is consider to be almost against of social and traditional norms while the on going militancy added insult to injuries depriving women of education, their inborn right. The educational facilities in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas for the women do virtually not exist though the successive governments often made tall claims to educate the people of FATA. Even in the last seven years when FATA came to the forefront in the national and international media still nothing was done on ground to promote education in the seven tribal agencies. The extent of the government inability to develop the woman education in the area could be easily gauged from one example of Khyber Agency where many girls' students like to be educated but there is no support from the government to fulfill their educational needs. And obviously the basic educational problem in the area is lack of rather adverse lack of schools and colleges besides the absence of qualified staff. The Taliban have destroyed almost 1,000 schools - primarily girls' institutions - in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of their design to imbue the youth with militant values. Swat offers a classic example of the Taliban's application of their destructive vision. In May 2008, the Kabal Girls Higher Secondary School, some 50 to 60 yards away from the Kabal police station, sparked a trend when its building exploded at midnight. According to official estimates, 401 schools were destroyed in Swat in the past two years.
It is difficult to tell who in Swat devised this destructive strategy which has affected some one million students in Malakand division. Militancy impacted the education sector in the worst way possible in other conflict areas too. Subsequently, attacks on schools went up and the figures touched 91 in Bajaur and 43 in Mohmand agency. "I myself shifted to Peshawar, to further my education," said Anila. Anila, a student at Peshawar University, denounced the militancy in the area, saying that tribal female students want to get an education but the militancy is forcing them to quit - or leave. The already low percentage of school-aged females attending class in FATA - last estimated at 1.3% has dropped further because of Al-Qaeda and Taliban terror. Militant bombing of schools compounds the plight of students burdened by pre-existing cultural restrictions on female education; unavailability of and constraints on access to girls' schools, and a lack of study materials.
"The destruction of schools in FATA by the militants has definitely affected the female literacy rate," Manzar Jan, deputy director of FATA education, told Central Asia Online. "It will take a long time to restore the previous education ratio."

A senior Tribal journalist Ibrahim Shinwari has concluded the matter that Government should pay full attention towards the female education while the tribesmen should also relax their traditions to enhance over all education. He also suggested that a private set up must be established in the region to share burden with government. The government should invite all the militant groups to table the issue or should make secure the region for healthy activities.