Equality for Women is Progress for All
Mr. Saboor Ahmed KAKAR
Gender equality remains the biggest global challenge of the 21st century. Despite a
global discourse on gender equality and a number of international conventions andcommitments on women’s rights, there is hardly any country in the world that can truly
claim to have achieved gender egalitarianism. Gender gaps in social, economic andpolitical status persist over the world. The slogan ‘Equality for Women is Progress forAll’ has yet to be fully understood by the male-dominant world, especially Asia.
In Pakistan, the gender equality discourse is engulfed by controversies and has noimpact on ground. The extremist lobby and the male-dominant elite assign women to a
subordinated status vis-a-vis men and rule over the whole society. A misogynist mindset continues to prevail. Women are denied of the fundamental right to live as individuals
in the patriarchal society. Furthermore, to maintain this patriarchal control over thelives and bodies of women, the mechanism of violence against them is invoked on a daily
basis and we can see it in daily routines. They are raped, abused, harassed, humiliated,and their rights are denied by their families, communities and state institutions.
Today, our politicians are making tall claims about their commitment to women’sempowerment. They will try to blur the reality of gender disparities in social life. It is
hard for our policymakers and the people’s representatives to explain the stark genderdisparities that exist in all spheres of life. Despite national commitment to genderequality, Pakistan has slid down on the Global Gender Gap Index from the 132nd to the135th, second only to Yemen. There is a persistent gender gap in the literacy rate: 49 percent of women are literate compared with 65 per cent of men. Pakistani women have theworst health status in the world, with the highest maternal mortality rate of 260 women
dying per 100,000 live births.
There is also a gender gap in political participation and representation of women asvoters, candidates and representatives. Presently there is not a single woman ministerin the federal government. Seventy-six women sit in the National Assembly, out of which
60 are the reserved seats. The provision for 33 per cent representation of women in local
governments has been made in all provincial local government acts. Only 18 per cent ofwomen work in the formal sector of the economy, whereas 70 per cent labour in theinformal sector consists of women, which is three times larger than in the formal economy.

Only 11 per cent of women own property and four per cent own agricultural land.
Women are the single largest group whose fundamental rights are systematicallythreatened by the state and society. The dual system of patriarchy and capitalismpositions them as second class citizens legally and socially. This leads to a low investmentin their human capital by the family and the state, and creates the basis for genderdisparities.
Every third woman is subjected to some form of violence. Discriminatory laws,
honour killings and the traditions such as ofvani, swara, karo-kari, sung chatti, walvar
and watta satta are creating havoc in women’s lives. In the face of rising extremism,
women have been targeted and killed by extremists.
Within this larger context of social inequalities, we need to raise fundamental
questions on International Women’s Day rather than listening to the hollow reiterationof commitment to gender equality. The important question we should ask today is
whether the goal of gender equality can possibly be achieved in a society, whose socialand economic structures are based on social and gender inequalities.
Women’s weak socio-economic position makes them vulnerable to all forms ofviolence. Domestic violence is rampant, women are killed in the name of tradition andhonour, and are even bought and exchanged to settle family disputes. This culture ofimpunity makes the country one of the most dangerous places to live in for women.
Rising conservatism in society further endangers women’s rights of mobility, working
and participating in political processes. They are attacked by radicals for seeking
education and employment.
We must understand that gender equality is not a set of commitments reflected inlegal and policy documents. Gender equality is a terrain of social, cultural and legal
struggles that cannot be won without changing the larger social and economic structuresof society.

Domestic violence

Large number of girls in Pakistan are out of school

Pakistan-violence-termed-main-cause-of-suicide-among-chitral-womenWomen in Pakistan are active in politics after so many years