The horrid social reality of Pakistani women

In our society, especially the rural areas, women have always been regarded as the lesser human beings. Not only are they treated like slaves, but are also forced to obey their masculine counterparts, irrespective of what they personally intend to do. They barely enjoy the right of making their own decisions, and rather live on the orders of what is considered to be the superior class in our society: the not so eminent men. Our utterly male-centred society has been tremendously cruel to women in various aspects of life. The low literacy rate among the female population speaks for itself. They have been discouraged to opt for higher education, mainly because the illiterate class of our society believes the investment in their education is futile. Moreover, their marriage is considered nothing less than a business deal.
Sadly, this problem persists both in the urban and rural segment of our ill-fated society. In Pakistan, the rights of women are curtailed under the name of honour and protection. Irrespective of what immoral activities a male might indulge in, even the slightest error on the part of these poor creatures isn’t overlooked. The level of hostility they face is increasing both in frequency and viciousness. There have been cases where husbands poured acid over their wives because they were found guilty of exposing their hair in public.
It is sad to know that according to various surveys, Pakistan – the supposed land of pure – is the third most dangerous country for women. We are ranked after Afghanistan and Congo, where such inhumane practises have increased manifold.
Not only such atrocious actions should be banned, but it should be understood that it is against the teachings of Islam as well as the ideology of the Quaid-e-Azam who put great emphasis on the role of women in developing Pakistan if it were to achieve its zenith. Unfortunately, we have failed to give these women the privileges they rightfully deserve.
It is time we understood that no nation can rise unless the female segment of society works side by side with the male population. Shutting up women within the boundaries of one’s house is indeed a crime against humanity.
The first step to improve the current situation of women in our society would undeniably be promoting the idea of educating the female population. Though there have been various radical attempts to improve the women’s education system in our country, all of them have failed drastically. It is about time that women be empowered. They should be made aware of what their rights are so that tomorrow, if their husband or parents force them against their interests, they are able to stand up for what is right.
More importantly, our society’s male needs to understand that it is not shameful if a woman contributes economically to the family. To promote this, our government needs to develop policies that encourage more women to actively participate in the workforce, while ensuring that their employment opportunities are not restricted to only teaching and nursing. Women should be able to compete vigorously alongside men.
Also, the female should be encouraged to enthusiastically participate in politics. Though our country has various noteworthy female politicians, all of them mostly belong to the upper classes. These women have never had to face the atrocities that the lower-class women have to go through on a daily basis; hence, these rich politicians fail to understand the very basic problems that the poor women in Pakistan face. It is important that we eradicate gender discrimination from our society and make women feel safe, rather than scornfully glaring at them every time they pass by.
Irrespective of domestic violence, tragedies and inhumane acts against them, women still manage to fulfil their domestic responsibilities. They clean the house, look after the children, cook food and relentlessly submit to their masculine counterparts. Knowing that no matter how much effort they put in their work it would be taken for granted, they work day in and day out, and still manage to hide away all their pain under the guise of a smile.