The word is quite in vogue nowadays even in Pakistan where it is yet to be recognised as an issue officially. Pakistan is no exception to the generally abysmal state of gender equality the world over. About 50 percent of Pakistani girls drop out of school and our literacy rate for women is amongst the lowest in the world. Although women’s inferior status to men exists in all strata of Pakistani society, the reasons and manifestations of the inequality differ quite substantially as we move from one socio-economic class and region to another.
Looking at countries that have exhibited progress in eliminating gender inequality, the one thing that they all have in common is an expansion in the set of labour-market opportunities for women. Once women’s earning capacities improve, not only is the economic imperative driving parents to spend resources in favour of boys removed but women also have substantially more freedom with regard to decision-making.
SABEEN IMAN
Lahore