In comparison,so urban centers of the country as well as semi-peripheral regions are slowly moving towards shifting gender roles that are more inclusive.
Poverty is one of the major factors in unequal household resources allocation in the favor of sons due to their role in society outside the home.
This gender division of labor has been internalized by the society, and girls do not have many choices for themselves that could change these patriarchal realities of their lives.
Lack of emphasis on the importance of women's education is one of the cardinal features of gender inequality in Pakistan.
It is important, as well, to mobility (through access to jobs and the political process) and to health and life (through the connection to bodily integrity).Education serves as a protection to domestic violence.
[4] Education can allow women to participate in politics so they can ensure that their voices and concerns are heard and addressed in the public policy.
Education is a critical input in human resource development and essential for the country's economic growth.
It increases the productivity and efficiency of individuals, and it produces a skilled labor force that is capable of leading the economy towards sustainable growth and prosperity.
It can help a country to achieve its national goals via producing minds imbued with knowledge, skills, and competencies to shape its future destiny.
[6] Women's education is so inextricably linked with the other facets of human development that to make it a priority is to also make change on a range of other fronts; from the health and status of women to early childhood care; from nutrition, water and sanitation to community empowerment; from the reduction of child labor and other forms of exploitation to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Increase in the level of female education improves human development outcomes such as child survival, health and schooling.
Strong gender disparities exist in literacy and educational attainment between rural and urban areas of Pakistan.
Moreover, social and cultural restrictions limit women's chances to compete for resources in a world outside the four walls of their homes.
The nature and degree of women's oppression and subordination vary across classes, regions and the rural and urban divide in Pakistan.
Later, the Taliban denied that it opposes education and claimed "Malala was targeted because of her pioneer role in preaching secularism and so-called enlightened moderation.
Firstly, women are viewed as housewives and mothers, they are set aside for one purpose – making their education the least important concern for their families.
A higher education can be seen as high status and often showcases a families wealth, specifically to incentivize potential suitors.
[citation needed] Furthermore, a man's education is valued above a woman's due to the gender norms in Pakistan as well as the non-existent social security.
If a woman is married she is still expected to take care of her family and many women in Pakistan are not allowed to work outside of their homes, making it very difficult to get a job.
Many parents acknowledge the real benefits of obtaining a higher education: women's control and empowerment.
[26] These conservative families tend to be more traditional expecting women to stay at home and attend the house while men go out to work.
A very disproportionate gender ratio is observed in rural high schools, only 28% of the enrolled students are girls, and 72% are boys.
One of the possible explanations of this pattern is relatively stronger dominance of tribal, feudal and patriarchal traditions in rural areas.
Moreover, there are very few employment opportunities for women in rural areas, and thus, there is very little financial incentive for families to send their girls to schools.
[14] There are almost 2,000 registered Islamic religious schools for girls, educating almost a quarter of a million young women and providing more than half of the candidates sitting graduate-level exams every year.
[24] Feminist economists argue that the government of Pakistan needs to fully address and resolve the gender concerns that exist in the educational sector.
They suggest that one of the ways to improve this situation is by increasing funding for women's education, encourage and financially incentivize people in the rural areas to send their girls to schools.
This way, girls will specialize in higher paying fields (jobs) instead of solely focusing on care work.
A Pakistan's girl school attainment increases by one-third to one-half more per one year of the formal mother's education.
Feminists like Martha Nussbaum are arguing that there is an immediate need to increase the public expenditures on female education in order to achieve gender equality at all levels.