Women Empowerment through Higher Education in Gilgit-Baltistan

The growing social awareness across the globe has brought a number of issues to the fore among which gender equality and empowerment of women are very significant. Discrimination against women in the form of male-female differentiation constitutes the core of the gender-biased system. Education is the biggest liberating force and rise in the levels of education, which nourishes progressive outlook, and the advent of industrialization and moderanization have effected a sea change in the attitudes and thinking pattern of the people. The empowerment is not essentially political, in the fact, political empowerment will not succeed in the absence of economic empowerment. The scheme of higher education through the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Gilgit-Baltistan has transferred the real economic power to the hands of women and has considerably reduced their dependence on men. This has helped in empowerment of women and building self confidence, but lack of education often comes in the way and many a times they have to seek help from their husbands for day to day work viz; bank accounts, etc. Higher education provides an opportunity to these women to improve their knowledge and skills. The higher level learning will also help them to play an effective role in the whole society.

Experiences emanating from the AKDN help not only in the encouragement of women’s education mechanism and processes but also provide opportunities for young girls to come forward, get higher education and play a vital role in the future in their respective families.

This paper attempts to illustrate the current status of women in Higher Education in Gilgit-Baltistan. It also relates success stories about the impact of Higher Education programs through the experiences of AKDN. Further it highlights the challenges faced and a lesson learnt in the process, and concludes with a suggestion for a possible and preferable way forward.