NOTWITHSTANDING what might be going on in other countries, Pakistan has a real problem regarding violence against women.
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Pakistan → notwithstande → women
In the past few months alone, we have seen some horrendous incidents: ‘honour’ killings, marriage-of-choice killings, rapes, domestic violence, spousal violence and killings, abduction, rape and killing of minors, and violence against employees and staff.
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we → see → employees
A couple of points stand out in these reports.
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couple → stand → reports
One, we do not have good data on violence against women.
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we → have → women
Incidents are underreported, and there are no national registries or data sets of any sort.
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Incidents → underreporte → sort
Most reported data comes from newspaper reporting, police case registrations, hotline reports, and so on.
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data → come → reporting
Two, though many reasons — poor laws and weak implementation, few protections, pathetic institutional arrangements, low reporting and conviction rates, delays, social and societal taboos, etc — are cited in these reports, a primary one is the impact of patriarchy: the control of men over society.
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one → cite → society
Patriarchy shapes not only laws, norms, and expectations in this society; it also shapes responses: what she was wearing, why she was out at that time, why she was driving, and so on.
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she → shape → time
Patriarchy is hard to spot, fight, and neutralise because it is embedded in almost every norm, rule, and law.
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it → spot → norm
Most societies have, historically and even today, used education to address society’s main issues.
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societies → use → issues
What it means to be educated has varied across societies and times, and one element (other than the ability to carry out tasks) has been the larger socialisation of the individual within society and the shaping of their values and norms.
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element → mean → values
I want to pose the question: should we not be shaping our education to take on the issue of patriarchy and its impacts directly?
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we → want → patriarchy
Recently, my daughter started school as a fifth-grader in a public school in London.
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daughter → start → London
On the very first day, after introductions and other formalities, her teacher spent a couple of hours talking about the autism spectrum and notions of inclusion, expected behaviour, and what was not expected or what would not be tolerated.
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what → spend → inclusion
This came before any conversation about the English or math curriculum.
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This → come → curriculum
This term, the heroes the class will be introduced to include Frida Kahlo, Mahatma Gandhi, Simone Biles, and a couple of human rights defenders from across the globe.
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class → introduce → globe
We must address the most urgent social and cultural issues of our society through education.
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We → address → education
Every day when I walk her back from school and ask her about her day, she tells me about the book they have been reading in class, the documentary they saw, the discussions they had, etc.
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they → walk → class
I have to ask specifically about her math, English and history lessons.
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I → have → lessons
They are there, and she is learning the subjects she is supposed to, but the school and her education are much more than that.
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school → learn → that
It is about what she needs as a human being and a citizen; it is about values and the kind of society that needs to be there.
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that → need → society
Specific skills are just a small part of the ‘education’ she is getting.
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she → get → education
I went to some of the best schools in Lahore in the day.
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I → go → day
But when I landed in England for undergraduate studies, one of the first things I noticed, comparing my own educational experiences with those of my undergraduate peers from England, was that almost each one of my peers had been exposed to things I had not.
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I → land → things
All of them had good exposure to and knowledge of a major European language other than English.
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All → have → English
All of them had studied music for many years in their schools, and many could play one instrument fairly well or had a good understanding of it.
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many → study → it
Many of them had had singing lessons: some were good choir singers.
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some → have → lessons
The schools I attended focused much more on doing well in academic subjects and preparing for school-leaving examinations.
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I → attend → examinations
Though schools, especially high-fee private schools, have changed a lot, including in Pakistan over the years, even the best of them today remain narrowly focused on subject understanding and examination performance.
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best → change → understanding
They do not give any importance to preparing citizens and human beings.
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They → give → citizens
With clear evidence that most children in schools are not learning enough (77 per cent are ‘learning poor’), the focus has shifted to foundational learning to ensure students grasp the basics of language and math.
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students → learn → language
But the danger is that this approach narrows the scope of education even more.
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approach → narrow → education
We focus on only essential learning objectives and try to drill them into students.
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We → focus → students
We teach these and test only these.
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We → teach → these
We test only these, so we teach only these.
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we → test → these
Foundational learning is the flavour right now, and it is hard even to raise concerns about what this might mean for broader educational objectives.
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this → raise → objectives
Education has always been about creating citizens and human beings who can take us forward.
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who → create → us
We must address the most pressing social and cultural issues of our society through education.
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We → address → education
If we do not, what is the point of education, and how else can we plan for a better society?
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we → do → society
Violence against women, in all its forms, and the grip of patriarchy on our society is exactly the kind of embedded issue that cannot be tackled through law alone and has to be challenged through education and with a sense of purpose.
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that → embed → purpose
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
