In Asia, religious -based schools may have an effect on the survival of attitudes and patriarchal norms in society, offset some of the benefits of extended education access to gender equality. In Asia, non-state religious-based schools have encouraged access to girls to education, but at a certain price, according to the World Education Monitoring Report published in UNESCO about the topic “Deepening the discourse of those who are left behind”.However, the UNESCO report suggested not to exaggerate the bad consequences of the potential from religious-based schools.
It was found that Madrasas graduates have fewer positive opinions on the higher education of women and mothers who work, believe that the main role of the wife is raising children, believes that God determines the ideal number of children, and expressing desires for extended families. A few decades ago gender differences in higher education in many Muslim -majority countries in Asia. Significant progress to increase access and cover gender gaps has been achieved, in partnerships with non-religious-based non-state providers. The increasing registration of girls in the madrasa helps loosen social obstacles in women’s mobility in conservative rural areas where Madrasa has become a low -cost platform to achieve universal education, “the report said.
“Madrasas can also cancel some positive impacts on gender equality from increasing access to education. First, their curriculum and textbooks may not include gender, instead of strengthening traditional narratives about gender roles, as shown by research in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Secondly, their teaching and learning practices such as gender separation and specific gender restrictions on social interaction can leave the impression that such gender-unquate practices are socially received more broadly, “he said.
According to the report, teachers may not have training to overcome gender problems and can act as negative models, for example affecting student attitudes towards fertility.”Fourth, more traditional institutions may have a limited environment with limited exposure to the model of progressive and media roles. Reproducing traditional gender norms to prevent participation in education and further work. What is happening in religious-based institutions has implications for the persistence of norms Patriarchy and attitudes in society, “he said.
The report notes that there are many types of non-state religious-based institutions with very different educational offers and financial support, and that they often function in complex institutional arrangements throughout Asia”While Madrasas generally follow the curriculum that promotes the way of life of religion, the situation is far from uniforms both inside and among countries. Some countries integrate madrasas with the curriculum of the government while the other remains on traditional models,” he said.
New research for this report, according to UNESCO specialists, examines data that connects religious-based schools, especially non-state types, with the progress or stagnation of gender equality in their society.A study that compares the Middle School of Women and Madrasa graduates found that the latter has an unfavorable attitude towards higher education for girls and mothers who work, consider children as the main responsibility of the wife, believe the optimal number of children is up to God and indicates a preference for extended families.
“Further analysis shows that Madrasa students, especially from unknown institutions, have an unfavorable attitude about women and their abilities than their colleagues in secular schools. Teachers in traditional Madrasa are found to have far greater families,” he said.
“It is very difficult to separate the impact of religious beliefs and socioeconomic background from the impact of non-state religious-based schools on progress towards gender equality. Madrasa registration has been found positively correlated with the level of household religious beliefs and physical distance from non-religious schools.
“Their unique cultural and institutional history, which often obscures the boundaries between state and non-state institutions, further complicate the analysis. The difference between them may involve schools of thought, emphasis on the scriptures and Islamic science, the existence of daily rituals, rise arrangements And an increase in attachment to a local mosque. This important difference means experience is a special state and even school, “said the report.