Gender equality: an economic necessity

Pakistan has a population of about 180 million, over half of which are women. Keeping in view the 51 per cent of the total population, it is a smart economics to ensure gender equality as a guarantee towards economic self reliance. By neglecting majority of the segment from the economic mainstream cannot produce better economic outcomes in this generation and the future. Social scientists are unanimous that implementation of gender equality has the potential and dynamics to double the GDP from four to eight per cent that is no less achievement in the current global scenario. For that matter, all you have to do is change the centuries old social misperceptions ingrained in the society. It is an undeniable fact that women in Pakistan remain at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.
Femininity is measured to be the essential concern in the process of socio-economic infrastructure development. Therefore, investment in women’s empowerment in Pakistan is the key factor in improving the economic, political and social conditions in Pakistan. Hence, decision making processes for women empowerment; valuation planning and policy formulation should emphasis on main streaming gender equality around Pakistan.
Women empowerment is not limited to control over imitation or financial freedom only, rather it is a grouping of literacy, employment and health. Women empowerment is an important and functional concept in the development of a community as it represents women as active agents rather than inactive recipients of development policies.
We have a golden saying of the founder of Pakistan who had well anticipated the future role of women in the society even before the formation of Pakistan. Quaid-e-Azam said in a speech in 1944, “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are within the four walls of the houses, like prisoners.” The lives of Pakistani women have changed during the past 30 years and they are more empowered and emancipated then they were ever before. More and more women are entering the workforce today as their predecessors, who made the first time at the work place and also made life easier for other women, lent them the encouragement to do so. But a lot more is yet to be done. There is an undeclared social resistance impeding the level of 100 per cent gender equality in our society. To analyse that, we need to break down ‘gender equality’ into dimensions of equality between men and women. These dimensions include human capital such as education and health, economic opportunities and differences in voice and agency – the ability to shape outcomes within households, institutions and society. We have found a paradox; for instance, look at the last 30 years, you find in some areas gaps have closed quite dramatically, a striking example being education. But some gaps like equality in opportunities and decision making are persisting, even as development occurs.
It is objectively understood that there are low rates of female labour force participation as in South Asia. This state of affairs exists in terms of gaps in earnings and productivity even within rich countries. Look at Germany and the US – there’s a gap in what men and women earn. Rich countries also show comparative gaps in women’s political participation.
We need to instill in our political leadership a strong sense of shift from our past perceptions. In face of the growing economic challenges of the dynamic world, the major emphasis must be focused on the fact that it’s an economic necessity for women to work, something which couldn’t be ignored. To understand the prevailing paradoxes, we have to revise our priorities and review our social value system that is highly biased against a significant component of the society by its counterpart. We have to neutralise our vision to honestly examine what goes on in the household, interactions with markets, how employers treat men and women, and legal and service-delivery institutions. A cross-cutting priority is ending the reproduction of inequality over time; ensuring attitudes regarding gender aren’t perpetuated and reinforcing our confidence in a world free from gender specific unequal level playing tilted against a class of people who make 51 per cent of our society. Gaps in earnings and productivity are explained by how men and women divide their time in our social scheme of things. Due to social norms, women spend more time on family care. Industries alone can’t settle this natural phenomenon. So the message is – great globalisation is happening and there is no other way, but to change. You still need directed policy action. You still need legislation with the power of enforcement. From Khyber to Karachi, gaps exist between laws empowering women and their implementation.
The wisdom demand us the establishment of a federal accountability mechanism to implement Pakistan’s international commitments including Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) as it remains the sole responsibility of federal government under the ministry of human rights. An essential step to help improve lives of Pakistani women is to provide platform for inter-provincial and regional dialogue which may well pave way for a national framework on gender equality and women empowerment. Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. Women are entitled to live in dignity and freedom from want and fear. Empowering women is also an indispensable tool for advancing development and reducing poverty. Empowered women contribute to the health and productivity of the whole family and community and further improve prospects for the next generation. The importance of gender equality is underscored by its inclusion as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organisations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. It is, therefore, being acknowledged as a key to achieving the other seven goals which include eradicating extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development. MDGs focus on three major areas of human development: bolstering human capital, improving infrastructure, and increasing social, economic and political rights, with the majority of the focus going towards increasing basic standards of living.
The condition of women has undergone undeniable improvements during the last century. But these improvements haven’t happened everywhere and even where they have been the strongest, well, they are far from being strong enough. Gender inequality still lingers unchallenged: it’s one of those things that are hard to see precisely because they are right in front of our eyes. We need gender equality now, because more opportunities for women are more opportunities for us all.