Feminisation of poverty on the rise in Pakistan: Tahira Abdullah

The “Feminisation of Poverty” can be defined as the increase in proportion and severity of poverty in women-headed households (WHHs) and the rise in women’s participation in low-paying, urban and informal sector economic activities, prominent human rights activist Tahira Abdullah said on Thursday. Speaking at the public talk, “Feminisation of Poverty in Pakistan”, organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI), she said, “In Pakistan, 75% of the population lives below the poverty line and a large majority of this population comprises of females.” ISSI Director General Ambassador (Retd) Ashraf Jehangir Qazi welcomed the speakers and guests at the occasion. He said that more and more people were recognizing that poverty was a denial of human rights and that the women were at the receiving end in homes. Women were viewed in terms of relationships and not in terms of their individual identities, while the situation was worse in the traditional societies, he added.
Tahira Abdullah gave an insightful and comprehensive overview of the deteriorating social effects of poverty in Pakistan, especially on women. She said that the successive governments in Pakistan had maneuvered the poverty figures and a census had not been carried out in Pakistan since 1998. In order to change the poverty figures, head count goal posts and definitions were changed, as well as the rupee-dollar exchange rate. She was of the view that the work done by Dr Mehboob-ul-Haq and his centre had greatly contributed in undertaking very credible studies on poverty, development and the socio-economic issues. Abdullah said that besides the rise in women’s participation in low-paying urban, informal sector economic activities, agricultural non-remunerated work was also among the indicators of feminisation of poverty. She said that women experience poverty differentially, and are “worse off” than men in terms of poverty.
Women’s very real contribution to the national economy was still not counted in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. According to her, the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) data on women’s employment (released through the Labour Force Surveys) did not accurately capture the rural women’s work in agriculture, nor women’s work in the informal sector of the urban economy. According to the Government of Pakistan, over 70 percent of rural women work in agriculture and livestock sector and over 75 percent urban female labour force works in the informal sector, she added.
Tahira Abdullah said further that women continue to suffer from inadequate remuneration, skills training, legal protection, social protection & security, health & maternity benefits under the labour laws, right of unionisation etc. She highlighted that the home-based women workers, 64 percent of the entire female work force, were uncounted, rather exploited by both contractors & middlemen, and were deprived of labour rights. She said that there was a continuation of gendered division of labour and ‘ghettoisation’ of women’s work. She was of the view that there was an urgent need to address the alarming feminisation of poverty through social security, women’s protection measures and by asserting their ownership over land, property, and livestock through inheritance, gifts and joint title deeds.
Speaking further about the suffering of women in the society, she said that guarantees were ensured in the constitution of Pakistan, such as Articles 25, 27, 34, 35, 37 of the 1973 Constitution, ensuring gender equality and affirmative action for women. However, women continue to suffer from poverty and be victims of the patriarchy and feudalism in the country. She said that the Jirgas and Panchayats continued to sanction and legitimise customs like Vani and honour killings, adding that the women have lack of access to justice and decision-making, which leads to the legislated inequality of women and minorities in the society. The event was concluded after an enlightening question and answer session.