Dearth of Women in Pakistan’s Educational Set-up: A grave Concern

Ishtiaq Ahmed

This short piece is prompted by the current process underway for the appointment of Vice Chancellor of the Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT).  I am quite certain that the academic family will be vying for the top position of VC of this country’s premier university. However, I have a number of serious misgivings about the entire exercise.

Firstly, I am unable to comprehend the rationale behind the involvement of MoFEPT. Shouldn’t the process of selecting the VC be left to those with direct responsibility for policy development and university direction. My worry is that even if the appointment is made on merit, the suspicion of political coercion in the process will loom large; it’s integrity will be disputed, and the credibility of the eventual appointee will be compromised;  notwithstanding, the discouraging impact on others who in future may aspire for similar positions.

Secondly, given the past history of these appointments, would female candidates be treated on merit?

We have four top-level national universities in the capital but none have a woman VC. There is nothing to suggest that the outcome will be any different this time around. Pakistan has a strong embedded culture of misogyny in high-level appointments in government departments. This has never been properly addressed. However, this offers an opportunity to at least begin to redress the gender imbalance by appointing a female VC, of course, on merit.

I have no doubt that there are extremely well-qualified and skilled women for these roles in Pakistan. If Pakistan could have a highly competent female prime minister, then there is no reason not to have a female VC at QAU, or for that matter, any other university in the capital.

There are 145 public universities in the country and only one has a female VC.

Unfortunately, there continues to be a deeply seated belief amongst the upper echelons of Pakistani society, particularly in government circles, that women in top positions can’t be trusted or that top positions are beyond their capabilities. This is a completely erroneous viewpoint. It is this thinking that has resulted in no female vice chancellor in the capital universities and only one in the country’s 145 universities.

In my hometown of Bradford, the University of Bradford appointed a female VC. She has had a significant impact on moving the equality agenda forward in a variety of ways in just a few years. Although the work is very much in progress, there is a noticeable movement in a number of areas.

The university’s reputation as an elitist institution that is cut off from the local populace has been significantly softened.

Opportunities for minority ethnic communities, particularly British Pakistani young aspiring women, have increased significantly. This in turn is becoming an important driver for gender equality in the community.

There are more honorary doctorates for non-whites for their services to the community in different fields, particularly for women of Pakistani heritage. This year, three British Pakistanis have received doctorates, and two of them are women. This was also the case in the previous year and the year before. What it does is raise the aspirations of others by demonstrating how glass ceilings can be broken.

The point I am making is that a university has a much wider role in the local community than churning out graduates, masters and doctorates, although this is the central mission of any university. But in addition to this, a university has a significant responsibility for increasing the aspirations of people who are marginalised, such as women, and the economically and socially underprivileged.

The universities also have the role of recognising the achievements and contributions of the communities in which they are located. This calls for a shift in the institutional culture. In an excellent report titled“Women Academic Leaders in Higher Education in Pakistan: Perspectives of Female Students Enrolled in Higher Education Degrees ’by Ashar Johnson Khokhar, the writer asks a number of vital questions, which, in my view, are very relevant for the consideration of the Search Committee for the appointments of the VC for QAU:

Why there is a dearth of women VCs in Pakistan’s co-education universities?

Ashar Johnson makes the point that “the number of women joining the teaching profession has risen in general as Pakistan has opened new women-only universities, some with women vice chancellors. However, women are generally absent from higher-up and decision-making positions in higher education.”

It is essential that Pakistan develop and utilise the enormous human resource at its disposal, which includes 51 per cent of its female population. For country to be seriously held back by archaic norms, traditions and closed mindsets in this age is a gross denial of the reality.

The position of burying our heads in sand like an ostrich is no longer an option for similar positions.

 The author is a British citizen of Pakistani origin with a keen interest in Pakistani and international affairs.