Despite passing almost 75 years of Independence and Pakistan’s claims at certain International forums to ensure gender equality, Pakistan still ranked at 153rd position out of total 156 countries ( just above the Afghanistan in South Asian countries) as reported by Global Gender Gap Index 2022. Increased honor killings , forced marriages and rising cases of gender based violence are enough to predict the future of female generation of Pakistan if we still remain silent on it.
Pakistan being a patriarchal society, females are deprived of basic rights including education liberty, health facilities and employment opportunities. If a woman in Pakistan fortunately able to get education , she is restricted to do job and encouraged to look after their marital lives irrespective of the money and time she had invested in completing her degree or the talent and passion that she has towards her career.
Due to over influence of male members on females in every matter of life is making the situation even worse. In Pakistani society, the very first thought that comes to our minds regarding the role of women is of housewife’s or homemakers in which they are bound to fulfill the orders of their husbands or fathers. Women are restricted to the confined space of their houses and are not allowed to make decisions on their own. Gender biasness can be seen in every field whether it be education sector, health sector, corporate sector or even in the political system of Pakistan. Only 19% of women in Pakistan are doing jobs with limited acceptable fields such as teaching, medical etc. Very few females can be seen proving themselves in male dominating fields that is not only widening the gap but also negatively affecting the economic development of Pakistan.
The issue of gender discrimination needs our collective attention. First of all, we have to teach our kids especially boys to give respect ,space, independency and liberty to all the women. The government institutions should initiate women friendly programs in order to empower them and to eradicate this menace from our society. There is a dire need to aware the general public regarding benefits of women rights and empowerment in order to decrease the influence of males in the lives of females. Females should have to be strong enough to demand their rights. Media can play its role through airing different women empowerment programs on regular basis. Government should ensure the education facilities and employment opportunities to all females especially of remote areas that will not only help to educate women but also ensure the economic development of Pakistan.
