Women are being encouraged to ‘seek the knowledge from cradle to grave’ in accordance with that written by the Holy Prophet and, as such, women as well as men are highly encouraged to pursue their education to higher levels of study and obtain postgraduate diplomas and awards alongside their men folk. In 2002 the Higher Education Commission in Pakistan ensured necessary structural changes to the world of higher education would lead to improved access to higher education across the country of Pakistan, with more Pakistani women being included in higher studies than ever before. A number of courses, however, were found to be particularly attractive to Pakistani women pursuing higher education. These included Islamiat and Urdu, amongst other subjects.
The pursuit of higher studies in the education sector is also a popular choice for many Pakistani women. Other courses of higher studies that are particularly popular are English and the newly emerging Bioinformatics courses that are now gaining popularity throughout the universities of Pakistan. As Pakistan is an Islamic state it is expected that women bring their children up in accordance with the teachings of Islam. In order to be able to do so, however, women need to acquire a sufficiently high level of education in Islamiat. Any woman whose aim in life is to be a good wife and mother but who would like to earn a degree prior to marriage would naturally find that a degree in Islamic studies would be ideal for the future of herself and her potential family.
Another good field of higher studies for Pakistani women is medicine. One reason relates to Pakistan being an Islamic state: during their training as doctors, women pursuing higher studies in Pakistan within the field of medicine do not sit alongside the men, but sit together amongst the other women. Many women training to be doctors will work in hospitals or community clinics so that they are available for other women to have the opportunity to be treated by another woman for their ailments rather than having to face the embarrassment concerned with being treated by a male doctor. This is so much better for many people in Pakistan – men as well as women, as some men are hesitant in allowing the ladies of their family to be subjected to treatment by a male doctor.
At present, there are only three universities in Pakistan providing a program of learning for those Pakistani women who would like to pursue higher studies in bioinformatics. Mohammad Ali Jinnah University is currently providing a BSC in Bioinformatics, as is COMSATS Institute of Technology. Meanwhile, in Lahore, the Government College [awarded university status in 2002] has also been accredited for providing a validated B.Sc. in Bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is a developing subject that incorporates the study of molecular biology with information technology. Many of the courses that are suitable as higher studies for Pakistani women are now being offered as M.Sc. or PhD degree courses although there are some universities where the Hons. level courses are provided as purely research programs.