Pick one of the following topics to debate.
According to the Constitution of Pakistan, the government is required to provide free and compulsory education for children ages 5 through 16, although this is not followed in practice. There are large disparities between urban and rural areas as well as social and economic classes and ethnic groups related to access to school and school resources. In 2009, primary school attendance for the entire country of Pakistan was only 66 percent (Clark and Warhol). Using Malala's experience as a starting point, debate the question: Is education a human right? Should states be held accountable for the education of their children and youth?
Malala advocates for the rights of girls in Pakistan to go to school and be educated. Her father believed that "lack of education was the root of all Pakistan's problems. Ignorance allowed politicians to fool people and bad administrators to be reelected." (p.41). Did a lack of education and gender discrimination enable the rise of Taliban control in Pakistan? Why or why not?
Malala writes, "In Pakistan when women say they want independence, people think this means we don't want to obey our fathers, brothers or husbands. But it does not mean that. It means we want to make decisions for ourselves" (219). What is the difference? In the U.S. we put great stock in the idea of independence--how is our understanding of independence similar or different?
Gender equality is one of the six goals of the global Education for All campaign that UNESCO leads. This was launched in 2000, when the countries of the world agreed to "eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieve gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality." Using the statistical sources of information on this page, assess whether or not gender equality in education has been achieved in Pakistan.