Every girl counts, a call to end gender discrimination in Pakistan.

I felt utterly heartbroken during my last field mission, which took me to a Union Council near Peshawar, a community of 65,000 people. I discovered that there was not a single school for girls, whereas there are six schools for boys. This might be insufficient as well, but the absence of even one school for girls highlights the gender discrimination they face. When I inquired about the reasons why the community had not advocated with the authorities to establish a school for girls, community leaders explained that the common practice is for the community to donate a piece of land, and the provincial government would build the school and provide staff and equipment as needed. When I further inquired why the community had not donated land for a girls' school, their excuse was shocking: 'Our community is becoming more commercial, and land prices are increasing; therefore, we cannot afford to donate any more land.'

This mindset reveals how communities compromise the rights of girls and the value of investing in their education, all for the sake of short-term monetary gains. I don't, of course, mean to play the blame game but rather to highlight the community's mindset, which is unfortunately not the exception in Pakistan, I am sure.

A girl who does not attend school typically ends up in child marriage and is likely to have a larger family, facing lifelong health problems. She becomes an economic burden on her family and society. Early marriage is the primary cause of lifelong health conditions, increased fertility, and inadequate economic conditions. This is a global pattern and a key element of UNFPA's proposed trajectory model for 10-year-old adolescent girls. Educated mothers raise healthy children and happy families. Educated girls have better prospects in life than their uneducated counterparts. Unfortunately, this community fails to realize the importance of educating girls and the potential gains of providing schools for them. They miss out on these benefits because a small piece of land cannot be made available.

It is crucial for local communities to update their beliefs and values regarding the immense benefits that can be gained from investing a small amount of funds in the education, skills, and opportunities for girls. It is important to understand how girls feel about their neighborhood, families, and community when they live in a society that deprives them of educational opportunities while favoring boys. This not only limits...