State Life Insurance, a government-owned life insurance company that is the largest insurance provider nationally, has employed all cultural stereotypes in an advertisement for their Child Education and Marriage Plan.
The advertisement portrays a boy in an Oxford cap while a female child is shown wearing a bridal dupatta, essentially endorsing education for the boy and marriage for the daughter.
Pakistan’s govt run insurance company – the largest by far – doing a good job in perpetuating gender stereotypes – education for the son – marriage for the daughter pic.twitter.com/iQbncypRx3
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) January 17, 2019
While the ad was first published in 2015, however, it has recently been making rounds on social media. Senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Sherry Rehman tweeted that the insurance agency needed to stop publishing such adverts.
“The promotion of child marriage for girls and studies for only boys is not the role modelling we need in society. The bill for banning child marriage meets with social barriers like this, making laws hard to implement,” she added.
Request this Insurance Agency to please drop these adverts.The promotion of child marriage for girls and studies for only boys is not the role modelling we need in society. The bill for banning child marriage meets with social barriers like this, making laws hard to implement. pic.twitter.com/MqJRlnImoV
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) January 17, 2019
A user pointed out that the insurance provider seems to define ‘roshan mustaqbil’ differently for male and female children. “Pakistan – in 2019 – for you all,” she added.
For State Life Insurance, ‘roshan mustaqbil’ defines differently for boys and girls.
Pakistan – in 2019 – for you all.#ENDchildmarriage #ENDobsessionwithmarriageingeneral pic.twitter.com/c58uROJN5D
— Maryam Javed (@Flossopher09) January 14, 2019
Another user condemned the cultural message in the advertisement: “State Life Insurance had the audacity to publish their pathetic mindset on their posters and get them posted around. It is pathetic and gross how they are promoting this stereotype and making people believe that it is okay how things work right now.”
“It’s okay to worry about your son’s education and all a daughter deserves is to get married. Gross, smh!”, he added.
