A recent UNICEF study of global literacy reported that:
- Of the 24 nations with less than 60% female educational enrollment, 17 of those nations are Islamic majority nations.
- In Pakistan, female educational enrollment is 53%. The female literacy rate is 45% vs. 70% for males.
In Canada, both enrollment and literacy for females is in the high 90s.
This large gender difference in literacy rate isn’t an indication that Pakistani males are necessarily smarter. It’s an indication that, in Pakistan, men are simply given better overall access to education.
Outside the large urban centers of Pakistan, girls are routinely discouraged, and many are coerced or even threatened away from pursuing a complete education.
In this video, presenter Frederick Tamagi explores female literacy in Pakistan.