Pakistan Denies Educational, Social, Political and Economic Rights to Women
Pakistani
women are One of The Most Suppressed Women Community in the World
Main Points:
1. Pakistan is
the 6th most dangerous place in the world for women.
2. Most of the
women representatives in Pakistan politics beling to dynastic political
families.
3. Women are
even prevented from voting in elections.
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By
New Age Islam Staff Writer
8 July 2022
Photo: The Friday Times
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Islam
honours women and bestows them a respectable place in the society. It has made
education an equal right for both men and women so that education will lead
them to empowerment. But in most of the Muslim societies women are an oppressed
lot. They are denied educational, social, political and economic rights. In
Pakistan particularly, women suffer persecution, exploitation and harassment at
the hands of men who do not want them to stand shoulder to shoulder to them.
Malala
Yousufzai was shot by Taliban because she claimed her right to get education.
Mukhtaran Mai was victimised because of the male chauvinism prevalent in
Pakistan. Veena Hayat Khan paid the price for asserting her role as a woman
politician in a male dominated society.
Majority of women being deprived of quality
education, they stand no chance of getting to the political and economic
mainstream. The male dominated society does not even want them to vote in
elections and the Election Commission of Pakistan has to rope in NGOs to ensure
greater participation of women in elections. Since literacy of women is poor in
Pakistan, they cannot participate in the political process and cannot intervene
in the decision making process. The result is that women suffer on political
and economic level. There are women of aristocratic families or political
dynasties who fill the space meant for women and do not make much difference to
the upliftment or empowerment of Pakistani women. Therefore, the Pakistani
women have a long way to go. Saad Hafiz’ article presents a true picture of the
hapless women of Pakistan.
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Women And Political Power In
Pakistan
By Saad
Hafiz
July 6,
2022
Developing
countries are increasingly recognising that including women as equal partners
in political, economic, and public life is crucial to nation-building. Pakistan
has a long way to go as women are under-represented in decision-making
positions. Political power remains firmly the domain of men, except for a few
elite women with dynastic political backgrounds.
Low
political representation, together with entrenched religious and cultural
patriarchy and rampant sexism, is the primary cause of the dismal conditions
for women in the country. The personal and political emancipation of women is
not a national priority. And the uneven distribution of political power,
heavily skewed towards men, limits women’s contribution to nation-building. It
also leaves women alone to struggle for gender-sensitive legislation and fairer
laws and practices.
Yet
Pakistan needs the active engagement of women as agents of change in politics
and society. Women can help to improve abysmal human and economic development
statistics. For example, women’s contribution in Pakistan is a mere 24% of GDP
(mainly through unpaid household labour), well below competitors, leaving
significant room for improvement.
Ultimately,
women must have input in the male-dominated political, economic, security, and
social decisions that affect the country’s future. While it is hard to
contemplate based on existing conditions, women must have actual political
clout, leadership roles, and meaningful decision-making power. It is an
enormous task because society does not bring women up to be leaders. Women are
not prepared or conditioned to challenge a hierarchical system that promotes
subservience to men.
We know
that the cultural norms that restrict the advancement of women in society in a
male-dominated country are multi-faceted and difficult to overcome. But women
can increase their political clout through the power of the vote in an
electoral democracy like Pakistan.
For
instance, female voters can choose political parties that give more
representation to women in politics. Their votes should go to political parties
that field more female candidates, appoint more female ministers, support women
candidates during elections, and expand their social base to fit in more women
from rural and poorer backgrounds.
But recent
data on the participation of women in the democratic process in Pakistan is not
encouraging. A frequent complaint is that women’s votes do not matter: a part
of the systemic suppression of women’s political participation. Male family
members also prevent a section of rural women from voting in elections.
As a
result, despite increasing voter turnouts, women are underrepresented in the
halls of political power and have limited access to financial resources.
According to IPU data, a global organization of international parliaments,
Pakistan ranks 112th for its percentage of women in national parliaments.
Political
parties are reluctant to throw their weight behind female candidates who take
on men in open seats as they expect them to lose. It is because women lack
voter constituencies that take years to build. Hence, political parties mostly
pick women indirectly on reserved seats through a gender quota in Parliament.
It limits women legislators’ power and influence.
Overall,
Pakistan is a tough place for women. It is made worse due to state-led
anti-feminism. Women face gender discrimination, endemic sexual violence, and
harassment. Successive governments have not attempted to remove the structural
disparities and inequalities that hinder gender empowerment.
Male
politicians often make ignorant and offensive statements about women
legislators. Government leaders blame the victims for the violence perpetrated
on women. Political parties pandering to the religious right find it easier to
advocate the policing of women’s bodies, choices, and agency. There is no
strategy or commitment to repeal the anti-women Hudood ordinances and
anti-minority blasphemy laws.
It is
little wonder that Pakistan is ranked third to last on the 2020 Gender
Development Index (GDI). And the 6th most dangerous place for women globally,
according to a 2021 report by the Women, Peace and Security Index.
Pakistan
has been especially slow to include women in political decision-making. And
women in leadership positions will remain a sensitive issue. But the country
has made progress spurred by women’s growing presence in politics through
reserved seats. In addition, the Election Commission of Pakistan has partnered
with NGOs in rural areas to increase female voter registration.
The next
step is to move away from symbolic representation for women to have more female
politicians in influential decision-making positions. Securing women’s
political, economic, and social rights can go a long way in nation-building and
shared prosperity. Nothing less will do.
We know
that the structures of repression that marginalize women will not disappear
rapidly. Despite the challenges, women and girls must continue their fight
against patriarchal forces. Women mostly have to drive the struggle for gender
equality in political leadership.
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Source: Women and Political Power in
Pakistan
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/pakistan-social-political-economic-rights/d/127434
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