• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Trending:
  • Kashmir
  • Elections
Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Daily Times

Your right to know

  • HOME
  • Latest
  • Iran-Israel Tensions
  • Pakistan
    • Balochistan
    • Gilgit Baltistan
    • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    • Punjab
    • Sindh
  • World
  • Editorials & Opinions
    • Editorials
    • Op-Eds
    • Commentary / Insight
    • Perspectives
    • Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Featured
    • Blogs
      • Pakistan
      • World
      • Ramblings
      • Lifestyle
      • Culture
      • Sports
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • E-PAPER
    • Lahore
    • Islamabad
    • Karachi

The war on women and education

Another grim event has made it clear that the war on terror is far from over. A schoolteacher has been shot and killed in the town of Jamrud, located in Khyber Agency. That the schoolteacher was female should serve as another reminder that the biggest casualties in this war are women and education. The teacher’s crime seems to be a firm commitment to her profession of imparting knowledge, which is the only hope for progress and uplift for the people in the tribal areas — a concept the militants are against the most. The teacher, Shehnaz Ishtiaq, was on her way to the school where she taught when she was gunned down. So far, some 25 suspects have been arrested but one doubts anything will come of these arrests, which usually serve as cosmetic measures to placate an increasingly alarmed public. That this is not the first female schoolteacher to be murdered in Jamrud is another indicator that this is a war on minds and the intellect. In October last year, Malala Yousafzai, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl was shot point blank in Swat by the militants. While no direct claim has been made by the Taliban in Shehnaz’s shooting, it takes no imagination to ascertain that the Taliban are responsible, seeing that they have blown to smithereens girls schools and have targeted female students and teachers indiscriminately for wanting their basic right to an education.

This is a clear pattern and it does not look as if it is about to stop. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are looking to fill a void created by the absence of knowledge and welfare; they do not want to see the masses educated because they will be without recruits and willing believers in their cause when the people of the tribal areas have a shot at a better life; they will then shun militant ideology. The first step is to encase women in the tomb of the four walls of their homes. If their goal is reached by killing them, whether adult or child, they will see their mission carried out. It is vital that everyone at the helm of this country’s affairs deal with this murderous menace, from the military to the civilian authorities. The state of education, even without militant ire, is appalling in this country and to see what little we have destroyed by these terrorists is truly heartbreaking. These noble professionals and their students deserve a chance at a decent life. *

Filed Under: Editorial

Submit a Comment




Primary Sidebar




Latest News

Justice Dogar, 3 others sworn in as high court CJs

Govt approves four potential bidders for national airline

Govt to deploy AI, experts in push to modernize agriculture

US calls Pakistan’s Nobel nomination for Trump ‘win’ for Americans

Govt approves sugar import of upto 500,000 tonnes to maintain ‘affordable prices’

Pakistan

Justice Dogar, 3 others sworn in as high court CJs

Govt approves four potential bidders for national airline

Govt to deploy AI, experts in push to modernize agriculture

US calls Pakistan’s Nobel nomination for Trump ‘win’ for Americans

Govt approves sugar import of upto 500,000 tonnes to maintain ‘affordable prices’

More Posts from this Category

Business

Asia number one target of Trump’s tariff letters

Finance Minister reviews progress on rightsizing reforms

Rupee loses 15 paisa against dollar

PSX gains 33 points

SECP achieves milestones in Corporate registry during FY 2025

More Posts from this Category

World

ICC seeks arrest of Taliban supremo, Afghan CJ over persecution of women

Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize as Gazans await ceasefire

Trump plans tariff blitz: 50% on copper, 200% possible for medicines

More Posts from this Category




punjab

Footer

Home
Lead Stories
Latest News
Editor’s Picks

Culture
Life & Style
Featured
Videos

Editorials
OP-EDS
Commentary
Advertise

Cartoons
Letters
Blogs
Privacy Policy

Contact
Company’s Financials
Investor Information
Terms & Conditions

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Youtube

© 2025 Daily Times. All rights reserved.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy