Karachi, 26-Dec-2022: It is no secret that women in Pakistan are deprived of their basic right to education. The Global Gender Gap Report placed the country at the 145th rank out of 156. UN Women stated that 53.6% of women had limited access to education, training, and employment in Pakistan. These facts would have remained ignored, but a hijacked news segment stressed the importance of girls’ education and shared the progress of the educational sector in Pakistan.
On 23rd December, young schoolgirls took over leading Pakistani news channels and shared how the literacy rate of the country has gone up by 4 points in the last three years, standing at 62.3%. They highlighted how the distribution of funds for girls’ schools has led to an increase in the literacy rate in Pakistan. New schools in the areas with low literacy rates were mentioned in their news bulletin.
The girls shared their literacy journeys and how it had enabled them to read the news to 220 million people in impeccable Urdu and English. This initiative is a remarkable way to direct the nation’s attention towards an important cause. They also highlighted the role of education in making them better caretakers of future generations and the role of private-sector companies in the education sector, specifically mentioning the initiatives by EBM, English Biscuit Manufacturers (Pvt.) Ltd.
Dr Zeelaf Munir, Managing Director and CEO of EBM, talked about the importance of education in building a better Pakistan: “Over the years, we have devoted ourselves to the advancement of educational standards, lifelong nourishment, enabling livelihoods and nourishing the environment. EBM believes its efforts will create new avenues of social development. We have collaborated with the PAF & RMWO in their welfare project to provide better access to quality education for the youth of the country. These are some minor steps in a long and uphill journey of improving the overall education infrastructure in Pakistan.”
The leading FMCG company of Pakistan collaborated with Pakistan Air Force (PAF) & Rashid Memorial Welfare Organization project (RMWO) to set up two campuses for girls and boys named after Rashda Khawar Butt in Alamabad, Swabi. The two campuses will cater to students from pre-primary to secondary levels.
In addition, EBM supports GCT’s network of schools in the rural areas of Karachi and interior Sindh at 150+ remote locations with approx. 29,000 students. They have contributed towards the adoption of TCF schools as well as the TCF Agahi – Adult Literacy Program in a bid to impart basic literacy and numeracy skills to the family members of TCF students, particularly mothers.
EBM believes that these efforts will add to the much-needed educational advancement in Pakistan, particularly in the underdeveloped regions.