QUETTA: Legislators, representatives of civil society and women working for NGOs have claimed that Balochistan has the highest female mortality rate in the world.

Speaking at a meeting here on Tuesday, Mem­ber of the Balochistan Assembly Sana Baloch, Chairman of the Public Accounts Com­mittee Akhtar Hussain Langove, Chair­man of the Standing Committee for Women Ahmad Nawaz Baloch, Gene­ral Secretary of the Quetta Press Club Zafar Baloch and representatives of NGOs wor­king for women and children rights exp­ressed serious concern over increasing female mortality rate in the province.

They claimed that the per capita education ratio of female education was lowest in Balochistan in the entire world.

They said Rs110 billion was being spent only on the construction of buildings and in the name of development sector, but not a single rupee was sent on service delivery in the province.

Representatives of women’s rights organisations expressed concern over low female education rate in the province and said that the authorities concerned were not making serious efforts to address this issue.

“A large number of girls drop out of school due to various reasons. There is no middle school facility for them. They have to travel to far-flung areas and cities to get admission in educational institutions. They do not have transport facility to go to schools or colleges. They leave without completing education or their parents withdraw them from schools,” they said.

The number of girls’ schools is very low. The government should set up more schools for girls and at the same time upgrade them so that the education of girls does not remain incomplete.

Women also face great difficulty in obtaining ID cards. At National Database and Registration Authority’s stations, only one day in a week is reserved for women while only one Nadra van is available for different areas and districts. Banks do not give loans to women to start businesses due to lack of identity, they said.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2020