Historically, Muslim reformers, such as Syed Ahmad Khan, tried to bring education to women, limit polygamy, and empower women in other ways through education. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was known to have a positive attitude towards women.
After the independence of Pakistan, women’s groups and feminist organizations started by prominent leaders, like Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, started to form that worked to eliminate socio-economic injustices against women in the country.
Muslim women leaders from all classes actively supported the Pakistan movement in the mid-1940s led by Quaid e Azam. Their movement was led by wives and other relatives of leading politicians. Some like Syeda Safia Begum of Muslim Town Lahore started the first English School for Muslim Children in Muslim Town in 1935.
Other active women leaders who promoted girls’ education were begum Rana liaqat Ali Khan, Salma Zamman, Ms Rahila Khatoon Shirwani (opened Sir Syed college Karachi), Mrs Majid Malik, Begum Shanawaz and a number of others who opened educational institutions all across Pakistan.
Some of the Prominent women who held important posts in Educational field were Begum Mehmuda Salim Khan Minister of Education( 1962 -66), Zobaida Jalal Minister of Women Development and Education (2000- 2007) from Balochistan, Begum Atiya Innayatullah (1987- 2009) and many others.
There is little debate about the importance of higher education in Pakistan’s future. Yet, we often fail to recognize that nearly all institutions of higher education in Pakistan are headed by men.
The pathetic state of leadership in higher education and a lack of women leaders are problematic on multiple fronts. First, it paints a picture of a complex, hierarchical, male-dominated society, where the incoming students are largely female, while the leadership stays in the hands of men. It is also fairly common to see female students outranking their male counterparts in exams and overall university standings particularly medical institutions. Yet, this success and brilliance never get translated into leadership. Out of the 60-plus co-educational institutions listed on the HEC website, only two are headed by women, similar is the case of most of other academic institutions.
At present our educational system is greatly influenced by the Western norms, culture and un-Islamic customs and traditions.
Our future generation is also facing exposure to unethical ways of living through unchecked media. To cope with the emerging contemporary challenges Pakistan is desperately in need of committed, devoted and sincere women leadership in the educational field who have strong faith in their values and would inculcate those values in their future generation. Women Leaders in education directing and guiding youth to work together for the sake of progress, peace and prosperity inspired by Islamic values and teachings.
It is of extreme importance to educate society about rights and honors being ensured by Islam particularly about the range and scope of powers delegated by Islam to all women about their rights of ownership, inheritance and all other due rights as well as making them mindful of their duties towards their families which must never be ignored in the economic race.
Women are architects of a nation and as leaders in education they have to play a proactive role to establish a sound world order where there is justice and equity between both the genders where they can work together for the stability and prosperity of family — the key institution of the society as well as culminating in the development of a more stable and sublime civilization by means of extensive training and counselling sessions.
Alternatives must be explored for finding practical solutions to the modern era and clarification of doubts about status of women in Islam so as to empower women through education and revolutionize society within the boundaries of our Faith — bringing real prosperity.
Education is important for everyone, but it is a critical area of empowerment for girls and women. This is not only because education is an entry point to opportunity but also because a woman’s educational achievements have positive ripple effects within the family and across generations.
Education is much more than reading and writing. It is an essential investment that countries make for their futures, a crucial factor in reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development.
Investing in women’s and girls’ education is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty and placing education at the core of women’s ability to contribute to all activities, working to enhance knowledge, competency, and skills, including in the development process and in their contributions to civil society.
Girls’ education is a lifeline to development, offering girls basic education is one sure way of giving them much greater power of enabling them to make genuine choices over the kinds of lives they wish to lead. This is not a luxury but it as a basic human right.
An educated woman has the skills, information and self-confidence that she needs to be a better parent, worker and citizen. However, there are also important benefits for society as a whole.
An educated woman will also be more productive at work — and better paid.
Women must be educated for a healthy and happy life. An educated woman can be a better human being, a successful mother, and a responsible citizen. Educating women will definitely increase the living standard both at and outside the home. An educated woman will force her kids to study further and wish them to live a better life than hers.
Educating women results in promoting self-respect and also helps in raising the status of women. An educated woman will be aware of her rights. She can fight against social evils such as domestic violence, dowry demand, low wages, etc.
Female education is the need of the hour. Without educating the women of the country we can’t hope for a developed nation.
Women play a vital role in the all-round progress of a country. They are the real builders of happy homes.
It is said that if we educate a man, we educate a man only, but if we educate a woman, we educate the whole family.
This highlights the importance of female education. It is a fact that women are the first teachers of their children. It is in their lap that the children receive the very first lessons. Hence, if mothers are well-educated, they can play an important role in shaping and molding their sons’ and daughters’ characters inculcating moral and ethical principles and values.
Napoleon was once asked, what the great need of France was. He simply answers, “Nation’s progress is impossible without trained and educated mothers. If the women of my country are not educated, about half of the people will be ignorant.”
The importance of female education in Islam
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (PBUH), came at a time when the Arab society, like so many patriarchal societies at that time, was rife with disgusting and loathing practices against girls. He preached Islam, liberating women and girls in every walk of life, education is a prime aspect.
Quoting Hadiths which are authentic sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):
“Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim.”These verses of the Quran address humankind to seek knowledge and delve into critical thinking; the emphasis laid is on the acquisition of knowledge. The Holy verses inform the readers that engaging in critical thinking is a moral obligation on both men and women. The Quran repetitively reminds people to ponder, think, analyze, thus using their mind power to contemplate and understand, whilst making no distinction between men and women.
The WWWT has directed its efforts towards the betterment and welfare of women who are compelled to assume the role of breadwinners (either solely or in part) for their families.
It was identified by the Task Force on problems confronting working women that there is a lack of professional development institutions for working women to enhance their caliber. There is also a lack of career counseling facilities to guide young girls in choosing an appropriate profession.
Therefore WWWT decided to also run a career and job counseling program for women/girls to give them directions to make important decisions for their roles in the future.
The vision governing this program is “to formulate guiding principles for the female pursuing careers that enable them to develop a career vision aimed at utilizing their education and skills while contributing positively to the success of their families as well as the society on the whole”. Under the head, we hold workshops and sessions on career guidance, pre-job counseling, and professional development.