Patriarchal values heavily govern the social structure in Pakistani society. Specifically, a woman is expected to take care of the home as wife and mother, whereas the male dominates outside the home as a breadwinner. Men and women are conceptually segregated into two distinct worlds. The household resources are allocated in the favor of sons due to their role in society outside the home. Therefore, education for boys is prioritized over girls, because it is perceived that boys must be equipped with educational skills to compete for resources in the public arena; while girls have to specialize in domestic skills to be good mothers and wives. Hence, education is not perceived as being important for girls.
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. Society does not allow girls to develop their human capabilities by precluding them from acquiring education. Lack of emphasis on the importance of women's education is one of the cardinal features of gender inequality in Pakistan. The Human Development Report (HDR) listed Pakistan in the category of "low human development" countries with a female literacy rate of thirty percent, and Pakistan has ranked 145 in the world in terms of human development.
Importance of women's education
Education has been of central significance to the development of human society. It can be the beginning, not only of individual knowledge, information and awareness, but also a holistic strategy for development and change. Education is very much connected to women's ability to form social relationships on the basis of equality with others and to achieve the important social good of self-respect. 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 can allow women to participate in politics so they can ensure that their voices and concerns are heard and addressed in the public policy. It is also crucial for women's access to the legal system. Although it must be considered that religion and traditions of the Pakistani affect women's education. Some women may choose to keep the traditional roles because that is what they have always known and are used to. It would be a great opportunity if women were able to make their choice on their own, though. They should at least have the knowledge of both sides to be educated or to stay with the traditional ways.
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. The progress and wellbeing of a country largely depends on the education choices made available to its people. It can be one of the most powerful instruments of change. It can help a country to achieve its national goals via producing minds imbued with knowledge, skills, and competencies to shape its future destiny. The widespread recognition of this fact has created awareness on the need to focus upon literacy and elementary education, not simply as a matter of social justice but more to foster economic growth, social well-being, and social stability. 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.
Economic benefits of women's education
Apart from the acquisition of knowledge and values conductive to social evolution, education also enables development of mind, training in logical and analytical thinking. It allows an individual to acquire organizational, managerial, and administrative skills. Moreover, enhanced self-esteem and improved social and financial status within a community is a direct outcome of education. Therefore, by promoting education among women, Pakistan can achieve social and human development, and gender equality. A large number of empirical studies have revealed that increase in women's education boosts their wages and that returns to education for women are frequently larger than that of men. Increase in the level of female education improves human development outcomes such as child survival, health and schooling. Lower female education has a negative impact on economic growth as it lowers the average level of human capital. Developmental Economists argue that in developing countries female education reduces fertility, infant mortality and increases children's education. Gender inequality in education directly and significantly affects economic growth. Empirical studies done by using regression analysis reveal the fact that the overall literacy rate, enrollment ratio, ratio of literate female to male have positive and significant impact on economic growth. Chaudhry (2007) investigated the impact of gender inequality in education on economic growth in Pakistan. The secondary source of time series data drawn from various issues has been used. In his regression analysis, he estimated a set of regressions showing a moderate explanatory power. The variables, overall literacy rate, enrollment ratio, ratio of literate female to male have positive and significant impact on economic growth. It was found that gender inequality in initial education reduces economic growth. In another empirical study, Chaudhry (2009) investigated factors affecting rural poverty in Southern Punjab (Pakistan), and he concluded that alleviation of poverty is possible by lowering the household size and dependency ratio, improving education, increasing female labor participation. He employed Logit regression models and used primary source of data from the project area of Asian Development Bank for estimation. Results indicate that as dependency level and household size increase the probability of being poor increases too. Education has the significant inverse relationship with poverty because it provides employment opportunities and rejects poverty. The inclusion of trained and education women workforce will not only ensure women's welfare, it will also increase the overall productivity of the workforce due to more competitiveness. Hence, the developmental and feminist economists argue that it is desirable for the government to allocate more resources towards women's education, as it is going to benefit the whole society.