ISLAMABAD ( WNAM REPORT): Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said over 22 million children are out of schools in his country, as he emphasized the urgent need for Muslim countries to prioritize girls’ education, state media reported.
Opening the two-day International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities, in the capital Islamabad, Premier Sharif said the Muslim world faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls.
Sharif said millions of young girls over the next decade will enter the job market, emphasizing they have the potential not just to lift themselves, their families and nations out of poverty but also to enrich the global economy.
He pointed out that in Pakistan, women make up more than half of the total population, yet the female literacy rate stands at only 49%. Alarmingly, he said around 22.8 million children in the age bracket of five to 16 years are out of school with a disproportionate number being girls.
Denying education to girls is tantamount to denying them their voice and choice while depriving them of their right to a bright future.
The conference is being attended by several international representatives from Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.
“I am excited to join Muslim leaders from around the world for a critical conference on girls’ education,” Yousafzai said on X. “On Sunday, I will speak about protecting rights for all girls to go to school, and why leaders must hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against Afghan women & girls.”
The summit will conclude with a formal signing ceremony of the Islamabad Declaration, outlining the shared commitment of the Muslim community to empower girls through education, paving the way for inclusive and sustainable educational reforms, and a brighter future for generations to come, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
“We have decided to place Islamabad Declaration to be signed by this conference before the UN, including the UN Security Council as a collective aspiration of the Ummah,” said the Pakistani premier.
The representatives also signed an International Partnership Agreement, expressing a collective commitment to furthering the cause of girls’ education.
