LAHORE, Nov 9: As world celebrates ‘Malala Day’ on Saturday (today), Education for All Global Monitoring Report reveals that Pakistan is among the bottom-10 countries in a new ranking for education of females facing financial hardship.

Report director Pauline Rose says: “As we stand together on Malala Day, it is vital to stand up for what Malala believes in and to put the spotlight on the extreme disadvantage that many poor girls and young women face in getting to school.”

She said the report as well as the new interactive website – www.wide.com, World Inequality Database in Education (WIDE) -- presented a global ranking on the extent of education poverty around the world.

She said Pakistan was among the bottom-10 nations with regard to proportion of the poorest girls who had never been to the school. The country, she said, was also among the last 10 for the amount of time that its young women spent in school in their lifetime. She said only six African countries had lower ranking than Pakistan’s.

Ms Rose said almost two-thirds of the poorest girls in Pakistan had never been to school. She said the long-term neglect of education meant the poorest young women in the country had only spent around a year in school on average.

“Without a real step to give poor children and young people the education and training they need, including a second chance for those who missed out, the government will be denying them equal opportunities in work and life forever,” she warned.