LONDON - Nearly 22.5 million of Pakistan’s children are out of school with the majority of them girls, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released today.
The 111-page report titled “Shall I Freed My Daughter, or Educate Her?: Barriers to Girls’ Education in Pakistan” concluded that many children have no access to education, including because of shortage of government schools, especially for girls.
The report said thirty-two percent of primary school age girls are out of school in Pakistan, compared with 21 percent of boys as by ninth grade, only 13 percent of girls are still in school.
“The Pakistan government’s failure to educate children is having a devastating impact on millions of girls,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Many of the girls we interviewed are desperate to study, but instead are growing up without the education that would help them have options for their future.”