Discrimination Against Women in Pakistan

In Pakistani society, women are treated as inferior beings, both intellectually and socially. The basic teaching imparted to every woman in our patriarchal society is to remain a silent spectator, even as a victim to any injustice meted out by a man and to be very careful of not going public with any personal crisis that may harm the family´s ´honour´.

Women form approximately 53 percent of the population in Pakistan. A large number reside in rural areas, where basic amenities are missing and women´s rights ignored. As a result, they are kept away from education, fall victim to despicable practices such as honour killing, etc. Silence ignores injustice, breeds obsequiousness and fosters a malevolent hypocrisy. Feudal lords thrive and multiply on silence. It is high time that Pakistani women learn to raise their voice against injustice.

In rural areas, women are like slaves subject to drudgery. They are there just to obey their fathers, brothers and husbands. They do not have the right to decide about themselves because women are considered foolish creatures according to our dominant social and cultural norms. Likewise, marriage is also a sort of trade between different families both in the rural and urban areas. They are highly vulnerable to violation of their rights to life.

A woman´s right to liberty is restricted in the name of modesty, protection and prevention of immoral activity. In the rural areas, 90 percent of women work in fields. They work for the whole day with their male family members, but they still have to face their rage. Male family members keep a strict eye on the female family members in the name of ´honour´. But one must understand the meaning of honour. Over here ´honour´ really means possession of women as a form of property. Not only are restrictions of women´s liberty maintained in the name of this honour, they also can be put to death if they lose their ´honour´.

With the passage of time men learned the cultivation procedure and became dominant in the productive process. Thus matriarchal society, a society where women dominated, withered away. The new forms of property changed the inheritance to men and established male domination. After the introduction of this system of private ownership, women gradually became a commodity and possessed as private property. These forms developed over time and the exploitation of women continued in different patterns.

It is only with the rapid advancement of technology that this tradition can be abolished and the psychology of dearth and greed can give way to a psychology of possession-free consciousness. This will ultimately free women from the bondage of domestic labour and the stigma of being inferior human beings.

Basic needs such as education, health and transport, etc., are inadequate. TV and satellite is available but tools and methods of farming are thousands of years old. These deformed patterns of development have further aggravated lives of women in the rural areas. Social life in the countryside and urban centres has not changed in any spectacular way. It has actually worsened. This intense social crisis manifests itself in the sharp rise in the molestation of women, gang rape and violent crimes against women, both in the rural and urban areas.

Despite all these setbacks, Pakistan government´s strong affirmative and proactive policy in engendering public services at all levels of entry are bearing fruit by placing women in high positions. Women´s share in Pakistan´s Foreign Service, especially at ambassadorial positions, is also growing consistently. Today the country boasts of having its central bank being headed by an experienced, talented and well-trained woman. The higher judiciary has established a tradition of induction of competent women as judges. Participation of women in legal practice is growing satisfactorily. With due encouragement of the government, Pakistani women are now venturing into courageous fields of air and space.

Once Quaid-e-Azam asked Fatima Jinnah to sit beside him at Sibi Darbar, the grand annual gathering of Baloch and Pakhtun chiefs and leaders. He was making a point: Women must take their due place in the history of Pakistan. The Sibi Darbar broke all precedents. There are some recent examples of women who took their place in the history of Pakistan. One is Dr Begum Jan, who received the international women of courage award from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Dr Jan heads the Tribal Women Welfare Association, which works to empower the voice and role of women in traditional communities of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Dr Jan is the first Pakistani to receive this coveted award. She has established 11 centres across the tribal region for providing medical training to tribal women.

In a traditional society like FATA, you cannot insist that you will bring male doctors from outside to treat women. The tribes will not allow it to happen. Women trained at her centres can perform multiple tasks, from that of a midwife to a village doctor´s, catering to the needs of tribal women across the region. Dr Jan, who has also won a pride of performance award, believes that private developmental agencies can play a positive role in the tribal belt if they work within a particular framework.

Other is 51-year-old Dr Fahmida Mirza who became an MNA for the third consecutive term from Badin, and is now the first woman Speaker of the National Assembly. She is an agriculturist and businesswoman by profession, although she is a medical graduate from Liaquat Medical College, Jamshoro. While talking to the media, Dr Fahmida said that she has three years experience for being in opposition and therefore, would not have any difficulty in running the House. Begum Ashraf Abbasi of the PPP had served as Deputy Speaker during 1972-77.

Of more than 50 women elected to the National Assembly on reserved seats, 11 have also been elected on reserved seats in provincial assemblies, with a choice to opt for only one of the houses. Women should be encouraged to come forward and play their role in the progress and development of the country. There is need to address issues being confronted by women and girls throughout the country by providing greater resources, not only in financial terms, but also by bringing about positive changes in the mindset of people.

Initiatives required safeguarding women´s rights and interests, including those of girls, within available resources. Hopes are high that the new government will further enhance and integrate the role of women in national development, and will certainly concentrate on devising policies, programmes, and strategies to fully utilise the expanding role of women in making the country peaceful and prosperous with zero gender discrimination.

The newly elected parliamentarians in general and women legislators in particular would raise their voices for the cause of women and girls. This would help pave way for gender balanced national development and prosperity, with mutual partnership of the government and civil society. The progress and prosperity of any country is directly linked to the active participation of all citizens in national affairs, and no country could make progress if half of its population was unable to participate in all walks of life. Thus the emancipation of women was crucial for sustainable development.

Extra institutionalised efforts, both in monetary and non-monetary terms, would have to be made at the national level to narrow gender disparity in the social, legal, economic and political fields. These efforts and affirmative actions would reflect the government´s level of commitment, especially the political will to bring about short and long-term improvement in the lives of the country´s women.