WUNRN
This Academic Paper was sent to
WUNRN in 2004 by Jackie Kirk, then at McGill University in Canada and the
University of Ulster in Ireland.
Jackie Kirk was one of the four
International Rescue Committee (IRC) staff killed this past week in an ambush
in Afghanistan.
The IRC Senior Technical Advisor for
Education praised Jackie and said, “It is thanks to Jackie
Kirk's energy, knowledge and vision that thousands of children around the
world are leading healthier, more promising lives."
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Towards a Sustainable Peace: Prioritizing Education for Girls
Pakistan & India
Jackie Kirk & Shree Mulay
Shree and Jackie have known each other for several years; we have been involved on different projects together and have always known that although we come at things from quite different perspectives and with quite different experiences, we share many issues and concerns. It is precisely those different perspectives and experiences that have provided a foundation upon which to develop this workshop. Participants may know one, both or neither of us, but this paper is intended to provide a clearer picture of where we are coming from and what we see as the priority issues related to our workshop theme.
Jackie’s PhD fieldwork with women teachers in Karachi,
Pakistan in 2001, and subsequent visits as a consultant in 2003, provided
opportunities to learn about the Pakistani education system, and in particular
to look at the roles and the potential of women teachers as agents of change
towards a more peaceful and gender-just society. She has also worked in
Shree, on the other hand was born in
Both of us believe that in order to change the culture of
violence one has to start at the beginning, namely by educating our young
people in ways which prevent the glorification of war. The pandemic of violence
cannot be treated without isolating the root causes, and education is where we
need to begin. This workshop provides
the opportunity to think together about the education systems of both
The experiences of women and girls in schools are a starting point from which to work on broad issues of women’s empowerment, political participation and peacebuilding. Jackie’s involvement in what is called ‘education in emergencies’, or education in conflict and post-conflict contexts, led to identifying the problems and the potential of education for girls and for boys. As so well articulated by Bush and Salterelli (2000), in relation to conflict and peace, education is both part of the problem and part of the solution. For girls and young women this is especially the case; in relation to gender equality, school is also part of the problem and part of the solution.
School is a site in which conflict is promoted and played out and, particularly for girls and women, a site in which the gender dimensions of conflict and the associated impositions and manipulations of identity (religious, ethnic, political) are also reinforced.
There are many examples, such as schooling in
Just in terms of access to education, the conflict in
The interrelations between education and conflict are also
highly gendered; for girls and young women who wish to complete their studies
in
And beyond this, girls have to contend with impositions of dress code and a regulation of their freedoms to wear skirts and trousers. School is a very significant – and very public- site in which these regulations are imposed, and through which girls’ religious identities are manipulated and exaggerated. In the context of conflict, the previously secular space of the school becomes one in which religious ideologies – and diktats such as burqa wearing - are forcefully imposed.
Sudha Koul (2002) describes her own experiences of attending
a convent school in which the Hindu and Muslim daughters of middle class
parents were educated together, all wearing the skirt and blouse uniform as
tightly as they were allowed. As she writes, “Our devotion Christian art and
prayers has nothing to do with the pursuit of our own religion. ….We just stick
to enjoying school and leave Christianity at the convent and our religion at
home” (p. 93). The college that she subsequently attends is also an environment
in which girls from different backgrounds enjoy easy relationships, drama,
arts, camping trips and so on. Neerja Mattoo (2002) attended the same women’s
college in
And to further reinforce the relationship between religion
and education in
Textbooks, the mainstay of most traditional education
systems around the world are also a very powerful medium through which to
convey certain ideas, images and attitudes. They can certainly be part of the
education problem. As an element of the education system, they constitute a
powerful tool for a ruling force to impose its ideologies on its youth. And it
is a sad fact that in both
In Grade 9 social studies textbooks in
A recent report, “The state of curricula and textbooks in Pakistan” (Sustainable Development Policy Institute, 2003) concludes that amongst the most significant problems in the current curricula and textbooks are: insensitivity to the religious diversity of the nation, incitement to militancy and violence, including encouragement of Jehad and Shahadat and a glorification of war and the use of force. Pakistani nationalism is repeatedly defined in a manner that excludes non-Muslim Pakistanis from being Pakistani nationals or even from being good human beings. Furthermore, South Asian history is presented in such a selective fashion that it is impossible to properly interpret events, and the material is presented in such a way as to encourage the student to marginalize and be hostile towards to other social groups and people in the region (p. vi).
This is bad enough, but for girls, textbooks and other learning materials also convey messages of prejudice, bigotry and discrimination towards women. Textbooks are a prime means of reinforcing the status quo of gender relations, and preserving the status, power and privilege of men. This can be done in different ways – either excluding women and girls from any text or images, constantly presenting male perspectives, male victories, successes and achievements and/or constantly positioning women in girls in menial positions and roles. Girls whose entire learning experience is mediated in such a way may quite easily learn that this is natural and uncontestable, especially if messages about female subordination and inferiority are reinforced in other domains of her life (such as family, community, media).
Although the discussion above may be somewhat discouraging, we believe in the power of education and in the potential of educators to challenge both the status quo of gender relations and also to promote peace. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have for empowering girls and women and for changing dominant cultures of violence and patriarchy. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3 is to “Promote gender equality and empower women”, the identified target for which is: “Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015”. Also this single target may be in some ways problematic, it is also an indication of the critical role of girls’ education for individual, family, community and global development [1][1]
Educating girls is so critical to the empowerment of women,
and it is also critical in empowering women as agents of peace. If girls are
excluded from education, then they are also likely to be marginalized and
excluded from active participation in peace movements, political activities and
so on. Illiteracy will prevent them from reading and understanding complex
issues, lack of confidence and self-esteem, which are often connected to
illiteracy and exclusion, will also act as barriers to participation. Access to
education for all girls therefore has to a peacebuilding priority. Beyond the
issues that the World Bank and others may make about the economic rewards of educating
girls, education is a human right, a woman’s right and a child right. In
Globally, conflict has been identified as one of the most
serious barriers to achieving education for all – and most especially for
girls. It is ironic that it is exactly in conflict and post-conflict situations
when education may be of the most critical importance, that it is also the most
difficult to obtain. Teachers, through schools, can provide a safe environment
for structure, stimulation, for opportunities for learning and healthy
socialization. Teachers can ensure child protection by communicating lifesaving
messages to children, by modeling caring adult behavior and by creating a
classroom climate that helps children heal and that promotes peace. Yet for
girls especially, there are many obstacles in the way to their having access to
this sort of protection. Ensuring girls’ access to education in
Elsewhere, out of direct conflict areas, there are multiple and complex barriers to education for girls. These include family poverty and the need for child labour, son preference and privilege, early marriage and dowry payments (which in some areas become higher as a girl becomes more educated (Bagchi, 2003)). Barriers to initial access need to be addressed, as do the barriers to girls’ retention in school and their completion of a full course of study.
And yet, as was discussed earlier, if education is also a site in which patriarchy and violence, religiously-motivated nationalism and ethnic conflict are also fuelled, then we also have to be critical about the sort of education we are providing for girls. Rather than ‘schooling for subordination’ (Longwe, 1998) we have to imagine and enact education for empowerment and education for peace. It is clearly a challenge as even the most avant-garde education systems have their foundations in the traditions of male privilege and perspective; the educational systems of both India and Pakistan are both particularly conservative, post-colonial and patriarchal (Willinsky, 1998). Although there may be some influential women in high positions, the management, administration and policy- and decision-making power in education rests with men. As Barnita Bagchi (personal communication, 2004) writes, “The public school education system in India suffers from the virtual absence of space, pedagogic and social, for encouraging creative acts of verbalization or articulation by both boys and girls, but girls in particular. This is with the notable exception of a state such as Kerala, where the social movement for education was strong, but even there, gendered silences are very present”.
Despite the challenges, we should not be discouraged, and we
should seek out possibilities, and create those spaces for creative expression.
We should also be encouraged by and learn from past and ongoing initiatives.
The women’s college that Mattoo and Koul attended in
Another woman educator who stands out in the history of
Rokeya is not the only inspiring feminist educator who has
made an impact on education for girls in
There are also some examples of learning for peace and for equality that are happening today and that we can look to as potential models for further development. Vacha, for example, is working with pre-adolescent girls within municipal schools in the suburbs of Mumbai. Rather than a place in which girls are silent and passive, Vacha creates a space within the school in which become active learners, working cooperatively to explore new ideas, gain new information and most importantly, to reinforce their self confidence and self esteem. Their study of 2300 girls in municipal schools in Mumbai revealed that very few of them had accurate information about their own bodies, puberty and menstruation. Vacha have subsequently developed a special module on the body, in which girls have the opportunity to see and touch a large fabric collage of the female body – something which is rarely reproduced in the school textbooks. For Vacha, empowering girls and promoting their overall well-being has to include providing them with information about their bodies. This will then enable them to make stronger and better choices for themselves and for their future families.
Jackie’s PhD thesis
(Kirk, 2003) reveals how women teachers in schools in
More directly in terms of
The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, adopted in October 2000, was a landmark resolution. For the first time, it affirmed the importance of a gender perspective in all issues of peace and security, and the necessity of women’s participation in peacebuilding processes. The Agreed Conclusions of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) held in March 2004 reiterated the importance of addressing the impact of conflict on women and girls in all areas of planning and intervention, and on promoting the participation of women in all stages and levels of peacebuilding.
From the discussion above we can see that there are particular educational impacts of conflict for girls and women that need to be recognized and acted on. This is important, not only because education is a right, but also because education is a site in which the skills, attitudes and knowledge for active participation in peacebuilding can be fostered and practiced. Given the traditions of an overly formal, patriarchal education system which particularly silences girls, attention has to be given to working with girls, empowering them to speak out, and also working with their families and teachers to understand why this is important. There are examples from which we can build, and lessons learned to be integrated into development work.
Resolution 1325 may be a powerful tool for women, peace and security activists, and yet it remains somewhat problematic. There is a surprising lack of attention to the educational needs of women in order to fully participate in peacebuilding processes, and furthermore, when it comes to this participation, it is women who have active roles to play - and not girls. Yes, education can prepare girls for their future activities as women, but it can also be a site in which and from which girls can build peace here and now.
In this paper we use the term ‘girls’ very broadly, with no specific definition of age – and we do so purposely in order to include cultural and semantic variations of who is a girl and who is not. But as stated at the beginning, we do need to better understand the age-specific and other variables in the experiences of girls and young women, especially in the context of conflict and peacebuilding. Vacha focuses in particularly on the needs of pre-adolescent girls, aged roughly 9-13, and they are very aware that these girls have particular experiences of the onset of puberty, of leaving behind their childhood and for many, of becoming a future bride. Health and welfare policies are attentive to the needs of younger children, and more attentive to the reproductive health and other needs of older ‘young women’, and these girls have been relatively invisible. But the girls’ caste and class are also significant factors to acknowledge – and their schooling experience will be quite different from that of more privileged girls attending private, and probably English medium schools in the city. And this is another variable which can be quite considerable in the experiences of girls and women – being city girls rather than rural girls also makes a significant difference in their life experiences and in the opportunities and possibilities open to them.
In conclusion, then, we would like to stress the importance of girls’ education – not just access to ‘any old’ education, but access to a quality, empowering education that enables them to develop the skills, attitudes and knowledge necessary for active participation in peacebuilding and other activities in the public realm. Yes, education is part of the problem – but it is also part of the solution, and especially so for girls and young women, who have so much to gain from a curriculum (informal and formal) and a learning experience that encourages and supports them to speak out for what they believe. At the same, we certainly need to be attentive to the diverse needs of different girls and young women, and to avoid an easy use of ‘womenandgirls’ without really understanding the different impacts, implications and needs of a very inhomogeneous female population. There is lots of work to do, but as educators, we are excited by the fact that schools and other educational institutions may be a very good place to start it!
References
Bagchi, B. (2002). Ahmedabad: A city divided. Retrieved from: www.igidr.ac.in/~barnita/ahmtrrep.pdf
Bagchi, B. (2003). Girls’ education in Murshidabad: Tales from the field. Retrieved from: www.igidr.ac.in/~barnita/murrep1.pdf
Bagchi, B. (n.d.). Inside Tarini Bhavan: Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Padmarag and the richness of South Asian feminism in furthering unsectarian, gender-just human development. Retrieved from: www.igidr.ac.in/pub/pdf/insidetarini.pdf
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[1][1] For further information on the MDGs see: http://www.un.org/millennium/summit.htm
[2][2] Education
for All targets were identified as part of the Dakar Framework for Action at
the World Education Forum in