Redefining "Women's Work": Challenging the Limits on Girls' Education with Baela Raza Jamil
“Degenerative and non-productive conversation such as ‘When you invest in women, they get married, they will only produce children and no longer work’ – this kind of nonsense has to end. As we know, women are always productive, always doing something, always economically engaged – but it's not counted that way. […] It’s a lens we need to change.” Baela Raza Jamil In our fourth Global Souths Hub podcast episode, Bethlehem Attfield talks to Baela Raza Jamil. Baela is a public policy specialist, a former technical adviser to Pakistan's Federal Ministry of Education, and a leading advocate for educational reform. She is the CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (Centre for Education and Consciousness) and founded the Pakistan Children’s Literature Festival. Her leadership has driven national social movements focused on early childhood development, inclusive girls’ education, citizen-led foundational assessments and learning, second-chance learning programmes for adolescent girls, life skills, and livelihoods. In 2022, she mobilized Pakistan's first Education Parliamentarians Caucus (EPC). Baela also works tirelessly to eliminate violence against women and to prevent early and forced child marriages a powerful voice on national and provincial boards and govt committees. Internationally, she is an Advisor Yidan Prize Foundation, Founder and Director Board People’s Action for learning Network Champion for the Learning Generation Initiative former Commissioner of the Education Commission, a UNESCO IBE Council member, andformer Delivery Board Advisor for Research on Improving Systems of Education. She has also advised various global organisations and led several international networks and task forces.