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Why Pakistan doesn't have enough reason to celebrate Women's Day

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Shantanu Mukharji
Shantanu MukharjiMar 08, 2017 | 17:54

Why Pakistan doesn't have enough reason to celebrate Women's Day

International Women's Day is a celebration of all women, everywhere. But perhaps not so much in Pakistan.

It's appalling to see that Pakistan's ranking in the international gender indices has plummeted to an all time low. In the Global Gender Gap Report  (GGGR) 2016 of The World Economic Forum, Pakistan stood at a dismal 143 with a score of 0.556.

Among the 144 countries, Pakistan ranked just above Yemen.

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Pakistan has been ranked as the second-worst country in the world in gender equality for two years in a row.

Today, countries across the world are demonstrating leadership on gender equality by empowering women and emancipating them from socio-economic male control with more and more calls for equal pay for equal work. Sadly, Pakistan still struggles with a regressive patriarchal culture which subsists at the cost of women's lives.

Unlike their sisters in other parts of the world, women in Pakistan have to pay the price for speaking up for their rights even though they are guaranteed these rights under religion and the country's Constitution.  Notably, Pakistan ranked 141 in the GGGR of 2014. It slipped to 144 in 2015. In 2016, it rose marginally to 143.

Therefore, Pakistan has been ranked as the second-worst country in the world in gender equality for two years in a row. The yearly report, under reference, measures progress towards gender priority in four areas. They, inter alia, include educational attainment, health and survival, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

Pakistan's performance on the four pillars of the Global Gender Gap Index have not improved since last year.

This is a very poor commentary on the existing plight of women. Again, Pakistan scored 143 on economic participation and opportunity. It's educational attainment is nominally better at 135. Significantly, Pakistan's poor rankings present a bleak picture of the modest progress made in terms of empowering women and gender equality.

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The narrative of women empowerment is an exercise in futility in Pakistan's patriarchal culture of honour killings, female infanticide, rape and violence against women.

Given the sad reality, achieving the targets set for gender equality and empowerment of women by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) looks like a distant dream. 

It is also pertinent to point out that Article 38 of the Pakistani Constitution and Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) make it incumbent upon the state to ensure gender parity in terms of socio-economic standings of men and women.

The deep-rooted patriarchal mindset is a major hurdle to an equal society. Being the fourth-most dangerous country in the world for women, it takes immense strength and courage to break through social barriers and the glass ceiling.

Pakistani women have been fighting a long battle to win their legitimate rights under the Constitution. Yet, they are relegated to a second-class citizens' status. 

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, as many as 512 women and girls, and 156 men and boys were killed in 2016 by relatives on so-called "honour" grounds.

Also, the Aurat Foundation's annual report of 2016  showed 7, 852 cases of violence against women. Crucially, there has been a 70 per cent increase in honour killings in the past year.

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In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) alone, as many as 23 incidents of violence have been reported  in the first two months of the current year. The brutal murder of Hina Shahnawaz, an MPhil scholar from Kohat, was the most high-profile case . 

As the world celebrates the International Women's Day, Pakistan needs to change its attitude towards women.

The country has to overcome its medieval syndrome. And rather than wasting time criticising its neighbour, Pakistan should first put its own house in order and try to improve the lot of its women population.

Last updated: March 08, 2017 | 17:54
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