Breaking Barriers: Socio-Cultural and Economic Challenges in Girls’ Higher Education in Interior Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

This study aims to identify the socio-cultural and economic barriers faced by girls in Higher Education in interior Sindh, Pakistan. It also aims to find out possible solutions or strategies to overcome these barriers. Girls from interior Sindh do not have the equal opportunities as men. In interior Sindh there is discrimination when it comes to girls’ education. Girls face multiple barriers in their higher education due to certain social, cultural and economic challenges in Sindh. Therefore, mixed method approach was used to collect the data. The setting and participants used for data collection were consisting of the students and Female teachers of The Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women University Sukkur. It is located in interior part of Sindh. Firstly, a questionnaire was adapted for female students in order to identify their socio-cultural and economic barriers. The number of responses were 66. Moreover, the semi-structured interviews were conducted from 6 female teachers to find out the possible strategies to overcome these barriers. The collected data covered the districts of interior Sindh such as Khairpur, Shikarpur, Sukkur and Ghotki. After analyzing the data, researchers found that the barriers that girls face in higher education are child marriage, gender discrimination, long-distance institutes and financial issues. The possible solutions to these challenges are community engagement and outreach, policy enforcement, mentorship and support networks, scholarships and financial aid, payment plans and installment options, sponsorships and public-private partnerships. This research is limited in interior parts of Sindh province only. Furthermore, it can also be conducted in different parts of other provinces with different audience in order to find out certain challenges and their possible solutions.