Pakistan’s Progress on Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls

Preamble

International commitments to bring about improvements in gender equality have had a positive impact in various areas. However, the promise of a world where all legal, social, and economic barriers to women empowerment have been removed, remains yet to be fulfilled. This blog presents Pakistan’s progress in achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, SDG goal 5. The blog also outlines a roadmap for future policy direction.

Research Questions

1. What is the significance of goal 5, achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls?

2. What is Pakistan’s progress on SDG 5?

3. How can Pakistan improve its progress on SDG 5?

Introduction

Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not just a fundamental human right; it is also crucial to the success of sustainable development goals (SDGs). It is proven that empowering women and girls helps in economic growth and development. Although there are women in the labour market, there are still large inequalities with women being systematically denied the same work rights as men. Sexual violence and exploitation, an unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public office are just a few examples of how women’s development has been curtailed. Women are also among the most affected group in terms of climate change in the face of conflict and migration. Therefore, it is vital to give women equal rights in terms of land and property, sexual and reproductive health, and access to technology, the internet, and education. Encouraging women to take more leadership roles and helping form policies that allow women to easily attain seats of public office are vital to achieving targets under SDG 5.

Significance of SDG 5: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls

The fifth SDG has nine major targets which call for an end to discrimination and violence against women in public and private spheres, ending child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, recognising unpaid care and domestic work and promoting shared responsibility within the household. Gender inequality is deep-rooted in every society. Women suffer from a lack of access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps. In many situations, they are denied access to basic education and healthcare and become victims of violence and discrimination. They are also underrepresented in the political and economic decision-making process. The coronavirus pandemic has also hit hard on women as the crisis creates circumstances that have contributed to a surge in violence against women and may even increase child marriages. According to research, women only earn 77 cents for every dollar men get for the same work. One in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence, while 750 million girls were married before the age of 18 worldwide. Also, women represent just 13 percent of agricultural landholding, and only 24 percent of national parliamentarians were women as of November 2018. Therefore, it is imperative to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere and value unpaid care and domestic work by providing public services, infrastructure, and social protection. Women’s full participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels must be ensured, along with providing universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and equal rights to economic resources. (PDA, 2021) (PKUNDP, 2021)

Pakistan’s Progress on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment

Pakistan remains determined to achieve gender equality and empower women as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pakistan has come a long way in achieving its targets, but challenges remain. Education and the media play a critical role in changing social attitudes. Several pro-women laws have been passed that criminalise violence against women, and efforts are being focused on amending existing laws to add depth and awareness among women about their legal and social rights (Dawn, 2016). But Pakistan’s ranking has drastically slipped from 112 in 2006 to 151 in 2020 on the Global Gender Gap Index report 2020 (WEF , 2020). Pakistan ranks at 150th in economic participation and opportunity, 143rd in education attainment, 149th in health and survival, and 93rd in political empowerment. After years of advances in education, health, and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas. Factors such as a low proportion of women in the workplace and declining representation in politics coupled with greater inequality in access to health and education, the global gender gap stands slightly reduced or stagnant at best. Economic opportunities for women in Pakistan remain limited, with the country only being able to bridge 32.7 percent of the gap between men and women in the workplace, while in health and survival, the gap widened to 94.6 percent (Dawn, 2019). Among the seven Asian countries included in the index, Pakistan ranks at the very bottom. Therefore, it stands understood that Pakistan has a long way to go in achieving gender parity, and while women empowerment programs have increased in activity over time, the overall population of Pakistan remains highly polarised.

Way Forward

Pakistan can change its gender parity and women empowerment situation by focusing on change at the individual level. The process starts by incorporating changes in the languages and terms used to designate positions in public offices and other jobs. Changing words like ‘policeman’ and ‘businessman’ to ‘police officer’ and ‘businessperson’ can largely reflect culture and language changes. Efforts should be made to establish inclusive participation of women in all educational and co-curricular activities while also making play and recreational areas safer and more open for all genders. Another effort can be to introduce books and literature which promotes gender equality and sensitises the Pakistani population on the issues which currently set back the country on the global gender parity index. Family and friends play a vital role in providing strength and will for women to work towards achieving new heights in all walks of life. Lastly, feminism should be debated and promoted in schools, colleges, as well as legislative assemblies and the media to raise awareness and public support on all levels. This can ensure that Pakistan has a strong basis for future gender parity and implementation of laws that pertain to women equality and empowerment. 

Conclusion

Giving women equal rights in terms of land and property, sexual and reproductive health, and access to technology, the internet, and education can significantly improve Pakistan’s social, economic, and political landscape. Although many steps have been taken to establish equal rights for women in Pakistan through the introduction of laws against violence and harassment against women, the country is at the bottom of the global gender parity index. Therefore, steps must be taken to inculcate change on the societal and individual levels by incorporating gender parity and women empowerment in educational institutes and policy-making processes.

Key Takeaways

1. Women only earn 77 cents for every dollar men get for the same work.

2. One in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence, while 750 million girls were married before the age of 18 worldwide.

3. Women represent just 13 percent of agricultural landholding, and only 24 percent of national parliamentarians were women as of November 2018.

4. Women’s full participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels must be ensured, along with providing universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and equal rights to economic resources. 

5. Several pro-women laws have been passed that criminalise violence against women, and efforts are being focused on amending existing laws to add depth and awareness among women about their legal and social rights.

6. Pakistan’s ranking has drastically slipped from 112 in 2006 to 151 in 2020 on the Global Gender Gap Index report 2020.

7. Pakistan ranks at 150th in economic participation and opportunity, 143rd in education attainment, 149th in health and survival, and 93rd in political empowerment. After years of advances in education, health, and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas.

Bibliography

Dawn. (2016). Pakistan determined to empower women, achieve gender equality, says UN envoy. Retrieved from Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1246866/pakistan-determined-to-empower-women-achieve-gender-equality-says-un-envoy

Dawn. (2018). Pakistan among worst performers on gender equality: WEF. Retrieved from Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1452284

Dawn. (2019). Pakistan ranks 151 out of 153 on global gender parity index: World Economic Forum report. Retrieved from Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1522778

PDA. (2021). SDG 5: Achieve Gender Equality And Empower All Women And Girls. Retrieved from Pakistan Development Alliance: http://pda.net.pk/sdg-goal5/

PKUNDP. (2021). Goal 5: Gender equality. Retrieved from Pakistan UNDP: https://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-5-gender-equality.html

WEF . (2020). Global gender gap report 2020.

World Economic Forum. (2018). The Global Gender Gap Report 2018.