Education
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KPK
Governor KP Assures Support for Girls Education Reforms
TP REPORT
PESHAWAR: The Rise and Shine Girls Education Leadership Network of Blue Veins, supported by Malala Fund, met with Faisal Karim Kundi, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to present key challenges affecting girls’ access to education and advocate for urgent, practical reforms.
The meeting provided a platform for young girls to directly engage with high-level leadership, bringing forward their lived experiences and community-based insights. The delegation shared updates on their grassroots initiatives and emphasized the importance of youth-led advocacy in shaping inclusive education policies.
During the discussion, the Girls Champions highlighted critical barriers, including lack of girls secondary schools, shortage of teachers, child marriage, harassment, challenges with the quality of education, and inadequate school infrastructure. They stressed the urgent need for school solarization during extreme heat, noting that harsh weather conditions significantly disrupt learning and reduce attendance. Issues related to transportation, stipends, WASH facilities, and school safety were also raised.
The girls further emphasized the importance of dignified menstruation support in ensuring girls’ consistent participation in schools, particularly at the secondary level. A comprehensive Charter of Demands was formally presented, outlining practical recommendations for improving access, quality, and safety in education.
“Ensuring gender parity in education is not just a policy priority but a moral and developmental imperative. Educating girls is fundamental to building a just, equitable, and progressive society, and we must work collectively to remove every barrier that stands in their way,” said Faisal Karim Kundi.
“This engagement demonstrates the power of investing in girls’ leadership. When young girls are given platforms to speak, they bring forward not only challenges but clear, and practical solutions. Supporting their voices is essential to achieving sustainable and inclusive education reforms,” said Qamar Naseem, Program Manager Blue Veins.
Dua Mir, member of the Rise and Shine Girls Education Leadership Network stated, “We are not just sharing problems, we are presenting solutions based on what we experience every day. Girls want to learn, but the system must support us with safe schools, trained teachers, and basic facilities. When our voices are heard, real change becomes possible.
This engagement highlights the growing role of girls as active agents of change. By transforming lived experiences into policy dialogue, they are not only raising their voices but influencing decisions that shape a more inclusive and equitable education system.
National
Al-Shifa Eye Hospital begins services in South Punjab.
Rs162 million facility targets avoidable rural blindness.
RAWALPINDI, April 28, 2026
Al-Shifa Trust’s new eye hospital in Haveli Lakha, Okara, has begun serving patients ahead of a formal inauguration scheduled for May 04, bringing specialist eye care within reach of five districts in South Punjab for the first time.
The facility, built on two acres of donated land, will serve patients from Haveli Lakha, Depalpur, Pakpatan, Sahiwal, and Bahawalnagar, areas long deprived of specialised eye treatment. The total project cost is Rs162 million, including Rs122 million for construction and Rs40 million for medical equipment. The project was made possible through generous contributions from donors, whose support helped expand access to quality eye care in underserved communities.
The hospital is designed to serve up to 250 outdoor and indoor patients daily. In Pakistan the scale of need is acute. More than 1.8 million people in South Punjab live with blindness, 85 percent of which is considered avoidable. Nearly half of all blindness cases stem from cataracts, a condition largely treatable through routine surgery, but rural populations continue to face severe shortages of trained staff and modern surgical facilities.
Pakistan’s blindness rate has declined from 1.78 percent in 1990 to about 0.5 percent, a reduction partly attributed to expanded access to cataract surgery and earlier diagnosis, though rising costs and limited facilities remain an issue. For daily-wage families in the Okara and Sahiwal belt, the new hospital eliminates the need to travel to Lahore or Multan for basic procedures, cutting both time and cost.
With Haveli Lakha now operational, Al-Shifa Trust runs seven hospitals across Rawalpindi, Sukkur, Kohat, Muzaffarabad, Chakwal, Gilgit, and Haveli Lakha, and has set up over 15,000 screening and surgical camps in remote areas. Construction has also begun on an eighth hospital in Lahore.
The trust screened more than 175,000 schoolchildren through over 550 free eye camps last year and aims to reach over two million patients and perform 120,000 surgeries in the coming year, with approximately 80 to 90 percent of all patients treated free of charge.
