Religious extremists in Pakistan seek to restrict girls' education | January 18, 2009

A great tragedy is occurring in what is known as the Swat valley in Pakistan

It should be known that the single greatest need in the world of Islam is the education of women. Herein lies the only hope for this world religion to solve the problem of violent, militants who persistently besmirch and undermine the full potential for Islam to be a force for good in the world:

In a northern valley where Taliban guerrillas have been waging a bloody war against security forces for more than a year, hard-liners have blown up or burned down some 170 schools, most of them for girls. Then in December came a warning by militants in a pirate radio broadcast: All schools for girls should close by Jan. 15.

Last week, an association representing 400 private schools for boys and girls in the Swat valley said the schools will remain closed after the winter break, which runs through February, because of the threat.

"Since the Taliban’s warning, attendance in our schools has reduced by almost half" to some 20,000 students, association President Ziauddin Yousufzai said Friday.

"From today, we have closed our schools, as we cannot run our education system in this insecure environment," he said.

Article here

Posted by admin at January 18, 2009 07:09 PM