BARRIERS TO FEMALE EDUCATION IN HAZARA DIVISION

Abstract

Education is imperative for all citizens for socio-political and economic progress and it is also an important religious obligation. It plays an essential role in the development of personalities and societies. In Pakistan, especially in mountainous region, gender inequality significantly persists in education. It convinces to be a serious constraint and barrier to the female educational development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, especially in the Hazara division. This study explores some religious, social, and cultural barriers to female education. The study uses primary and secondary sources analyzed through quantitative method. Data was collected from 400 female respondents in different districts of the Hazara division. Study results show that more than 70 percent of the respondents agreed that socio-cultural barriers affected the female education in Hazara region. As a result, poverty, child labour, gender perception, destructive social norms, insecurity and sexual harassment, poor transportation to educational institutions are barriers to female education not only in the Hazara division but across the country.