ISLAMABAD: A lack of accommodation facilities for female students in public sector universities of the country is a major hurdle in the way of women pursuing their higher studies, as 12 of the 53 public universities have no hostels and 24 of the 53 universities failed to accommodate all female students who applied for hostel accommodation in the last four years. An official document available with Daily Times states that 12 public sector universities have no hostel, but they have a considerable number of female students. Some of them are Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology; University of Malakand; Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology, Khuzdar; University of Management Sciences and Information Technology, Azad Jammu and Kashmir; Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Lyari, Karachi; Air University, Islamabad; National Defence University, Islamabad; Virtual University of Pakistan; Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Sukkur; University of Education, Lahore; Dow University of Health Sciences; University of Health Sciences, Lahore; Khyber Medical University and Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak. Documents show that 24 universities have failed to accommodate most female students due to limited number of rooms at their hostels. In the last four years (2012 to 2016), 40,265 students were successful in getting accommodation at university hostel out of 59,093 students who applied for the facility. At least 18,828 female students were forced to live in private hostels due to the limited number of rooms at university hostels. The aforementioned facts show the problems being faced by female students of the country. A lack of hostel facility shows government’s ‘commitment’ to women’s education in the country. Rehan Tahir, chairman of the Pakistan Youth Assembly, said, “It is more difficult for a female student compared to a male student to continue her studies in the absence of university hostel facility because parents in our society usually do not allow girls to live in private hostels. The government should make a policy to increase lodging and boarding facilities at universities.” Rabia Jabbar, a student of the Air University, said, “Private accommodation is expensive and not that much secure. A large number of girls quit their studies just because of unavailability of hostels in reputed universities like Air University and National Defence University, Islamabad.” “In our university, the major problem is the limited number of seats in hostels for female students. Students get hostel during their last semester after waiting for years for the facility.” A group of students studying Sharia Law at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) told Daily Times that they were forced to live outside the university. Data highlights the fact that the universities, which don’t have the hostels, are mostly situated in rural areas of the country where the concept of private hostel is not very much common or culturally acceptable. Former provost of IIUI hostels Hafiz Abid Masood said, “The IIUI has just completed a project of three new hostels for female students and we believe that the accommodation facilities for female students are quite necessary. The PC-I of a new project relating to boarding facilities for girls is also under consideration.” He said, “The universities, which are currently working without hostel facilities, should construct their hostels because it is a basic requirement, especially in case of female students.” This is worth mentioning here that this report has been written keeping in view the conditions at the 53 public sector universities in the country. Overall, there are 103 universities in the country.