Gender Disparities in Education in Rural Sindh The Role of Parental Attitudes and Socioeconomic Barriers

This preprint examines gender disparities in education in rural Sindh, Pakistan, with specific evidence from Umerkot and Tharparkar districts. The study investigates how parental attitudes, household income, parents’ education, distance to school, and cultural constraints influence girls’ school enrollment and continuation. Using a mixed-method approach and primary data collected from 150 households, the study applies descriptive analysis, cross-tabulation, logistic regression, and qualitative thematic analysis. The findings indicate that parental attitude is the strongest determinant of girls’ educational participation, followed by household income and parents’ education, while distance to school and cultural constraints negatively affect girls’ enrollment. The study recommends integrated interventions addressing household poverty, parental awareness, safe school access, school facilities, and restrictive gender norms. This record includes the main manuscript and Appendix A, the survey questionnaire used for data collection. Status: Preprint / research manuscript. This work has not been peer-reviewed by a journal.