[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Zia Ul Ummah Foundation takes pride in its female students. Over the years, the female student body has grown. We have more than twice as many girls enrolled for the hifz programme as boys – 720 girls vs. 300 boys – at our main school at Bhera.
And Ghousia College for Girls, set up in 1990, has seen a tremendous growth in the number of students pursuing advanced Islamic studies.
Arshad Ahmed, who has worked for Zia Ul Ummah for 10 years, explains that the foundation aims to provide the same opportunities, faculty and facilities at the Ghousia College for Girls as at the corresponding college for boys.
The reason for this is simple. “In Bhera, men primarily support the family financially, but women largely take up the traditional roles -mother, sister, daughter – and it’s the women that nurture, raise and often educate the next generation. Their education is crucial for society.”
The graduates of Ghousia College often end up taking on professional as well as traditional gender roles. Many end up teaching at schools in their hometowns or at the school or college in Bhera. Many are pursuing PhDs in other cities or careers internationally.
Sadia Ahmed, who studied at the Bhera school and Ghousia College, moved to the UK a decade ago, and is now a radio presenter in Derby. Her show, Bhainon Ki Mehfil, is about tackling daily problems in the light of Islamic teachings.
There are 1,100 female students at the Zia Ul Ummah school and college in Bhera, and thousands of others enrolled at our schools and colleges in Lahore, Sargodha, Gujrat, Muzaffarabad, Jhelum and Islamabad.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]