Cash grants will be given to mothers for enrolling their daughters: Maleeha Lodhi

Nations Maleeha Lodhi said on Saturday that conditional cash grants are being given to those mothers who enroll their daughters in schools.

Addressing the Catalytic Partnerships for Gender Equality in Education event in United Nations, the ambassador said Pakistan has launched innovative schemes and pilot projects for girls’ education.

Lodhi also said that the education voucher scheme launched in Punjab, as well as conditional grants that were given in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have helped in promoting education in Pakistan.

Highlighting the importance of girls’ education, speakers at an interactive session had also stressed the need for increasing the education budget.

The event, held in connection with the International Women’s Day at a hotel on Saturday, was moderated by Najma Pirzada while the panel comprised rights activist Farzana Bari, education reformer Mehnaz Aziz, mountaineer Samina Baig, social entrepreneur Fiza Farhan and poet Kishwar Naheed.

Education voucher scheme launched in Punjab, as well as conditional grants that were given in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have helped in promoting education in Pakistan.

Wife of the German ambassador Tina Nunn delivered the welcome note.

Bari had proposed structural changes to debunk various myths and stereotypes surrounding feminism. She emphasized increasing the education budget and following the minimum four per cent requirement as laid down by UNESCO. She also highlighted the importance of economic empowerment of women, linking it to gender equality and development, mentioning that 61 per cent of the female population was illiterate.

If the government succeed enrolling more girls for education this would be the most acclaimed step taken yet. The girl’s education is needed and it should be promoted by all means. Such steps would lead poor parents to send their daughters schools rather than marrying them at young ages or sending them to work.

Originally published in Tribune