Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said over 22 million children are out of schools in Pakistan, as he emphasised the urgent need for Muslim countries to prioritise girls’ education, state media reported.

Opening the two-day ‘International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities’ in Islamabad, the premier said the Muslim world faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls.

PM Shehbaz said millions of young girls will enter the job market over the next decade, emphasising that they “have the potential not just to lift themselves, their families and nations out of poverty but also to enrich the global economy.”

He pointed out that in Pakistan, women make up more than half of the total population, yet the female literacy rate stands at only 49 per cent. “Alarmingly, around 22.8 million children in the age bracket of five to 16 years are out of school, with a disproportionate number being girls.

“Denying education to girls is tantamount to denying them their voice and choice while depriving them of their right to a bright future,” Shehbaz said.

Several international representatives from Muslim-majority countries, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, are attending the conference.

“I am excited to join Muslim leaders from around the world for a critical conference on girls’ education,” Malala said on X. “On Sunday, I will speak about protecting rights for all girls to go to school, and why leaders must hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against Afghan women & girls.”

“The summit will conclude with a formal signing ceremony of the Islamabad Declaration, outlining the shared commitment of Muslim nations to empower girls through education, paving the way for inclusive and sustainable educational reforms and a brighter future for generations to come,” said a statement from the Foreign Office on Wednesday.

“We have decided to place [the] Islamabad Declaration to be signed by this conference before the UN, including the UN Security Council as a collective aspiration of the Ummah,” PM Shehbaz said.

The representatives also signed an International Partnership Agreement, expressing a collective commitment to furthering the cause of girls’ education.