Gender discrimination in Pakistan

By
PakistanToday
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27
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Discrimination represents a significant social problem in Pakistan as well as throughout the world. Girls face discrimination everywhere in the world. They often receive less food than boys do, have less entrée to schooling and work long hours. Why can’t we see the helpless agony of the girl child in our society? Their ignorance will certainly beget to forget our cause, which is still fractured in the regions.
In societies where a male child is regarded as more valuable to the family, girls often are denied the right of life, denied the right to name and nationality. And by being married off early or forced to stay at home and help in domestic chores, girls are often denied the right to education and all the advantages that go with it, the right to associate freely and the rights accompanying unjustified deprivation of liberty. These all are basic humiliation from family to girls when boys are regarded as the pillars of tomorrow.
The convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989 and by now ratified by most countries of the world, provide an agenda for action in identifying enduring forms of inequality and discrimination against girls, abolishing practices and traditions detrimental to the fulfilment of their rights and defining an effective strategy to promote and protect those rights. But implementation is necessary to ensure positive changes. Other than the CRC, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the most extensive and widely ratified international agreement promoting the rights of girls and women.
When we talk about the education system, it reflects the inequality found outside the classroom. Girls the world over are less likely than their brothers to be attending primary school. In some cases, where a decision has to be made about which children to send to school, it is commonly seen that parents decide to invest in their sons’ education rather than their daughters’. This may reflect the fact that upon marriage, daughters may no longer contribute to family income and are therefore not seen as worth investing in.
There are several gender discrimination related consequences of child labour as well. Most obvious are the problems faced by girls who have been sexually exploited. Also girls working as child domestic workers are often denied medical treatment when required since they are domestic help and do not share the same status as the other children in the household. Children who suffer an accident at work may also feel that this is their own fault for being clumsy or bad at their job, and the adults and medical personnel who they encounter may have the same attitude.
Education is the tool that can help break the pattern of gender discrimination and bring lasting changes for women in developing countries like ours. Pakistan has for decades grossly underinvested in education, and in particular, girls’ education. Girls’ education also means comprehensive change for a society. Educated women are essential to ending gender bias, starting by reducing the poverty that makes discrimination even worse in the developing world.
SAHIBA IRFAN KHAN
Lahore

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27 COMMENTS

  1. Great Article! Ms. Sahiba,
    Come to think of it, if only we realise the “Reward of Heaven” for a good upbringing of daughter, as quoted by our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the change in this overall Jahil thinking/mindset can be overcome somehow. I have a Son and Twin Daughters and i am sparing no expense to give them a perfect lifestyle in every sence. Those who dont care about their daughters/sisters/wife will pay for it in the next life as well as in this life , for sure.Ameen!
    Keep up the good work! 🙂

  2. Our beloved profit Muhammad (PBUH) had ended the system of jahiliat in the earlier stages of islam was that the men and women have equal rights.But it is not a big issue now a days specially in the country like islamabad where i live. The womens done work here with making head to head to men .

    • Good Mr. Hassan.. But make a little correction in spellings (its not profit, its Prophet) and secondly, your Islamabad is an advanced and developed city where people are out of courtesy. A woman should do everything, its her right but within the limits imposed on her by the Islamic Law.

  3. i m in swabi like poor and backward village in pakistan,most of people are MA/MSC but illitrate people,I always apreciate the thinking and speach of the girls in Government schools about gender descremination

  7. charles darwin theory of human evolution == females of the species drive the evolution by selection of male gender == tall dark strong ( JAMES BONDS) !!! SO GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS — USE YOUR GIRL POWER – GO ON SEXSTRIKE AND THEN SEE MALES BUYING ROSES FOR YOU !!! COME ON GALS -MAKE THE GUYS TWIST AGAIN !!!!

    ASK BILL CLINTON or CIA DIRECTOR MISTRESSES X2 POOR MALES DRIVEN MAD BY WOMEN MISTRESSES ..

  9. good to give idea about gender discrimination. but i do not think only girls are affedting by this dilemma, boys also have an equal share in this meance.good article to educate people regrding this isue and highlight this alarming fact. good luck.

  10. Gender discrimination is a big menace in our society and especially in entire Pakistan…It is something very nice to give awareness regarding the rights of women as they have the equal rights as man do…..

  11. i guess its girls rite 2 live life same as men do….but they are not secure specially in pakistan…..so evryone ov us have 2 change our views n behaviour….n tr8 girls with respct…..

    • Actually, my friend, its vice versa. Every co ed school in our country favours females. We have reserved seats in the senate for females. Females are unanimously excused for commiting acts of violence against males. Females are allowed to break lines in shops…. I could go on forever…….

      • Yeah, well that's discrimination but what about the bigger kinds of discrimination that men don't have to face hardly at all in Pakistan such as rape, denial of education, early marriages. I mean, its more likely that a girl will get married at 12 years to a 50 year old Mullah than in the case of a boy

  13. In our society every one is suffering from poverty, injustice, discrimination and unemployment. Female suffer more than male because of the values practiced in our region. literacy rate and political participation is low and motivation for professional life in not appreciated by the male dominant society. SAHIBA indicate many real issues raised because of our miss perceptions mixing cultural values with islamic .

  14. Gender discrimination is prevalent in Pakistani society but causes of gender discrimination are usually
    misunderstood .Usually this discrimination is influenced by cultural norms and traditions, religion, region.
    Human beings belong to two sexes. Both genders are different biologically and socially, in their needs, fields of
    responsibilities. Physically a female is made to make family, relations, serve and trained human beings gently
    and male is made for hardships to construct, bear workload and struggle for earning. Both are equal in basic
    human rights but gentleness of woman need to be secure by strength of man .Both are made for different
    purposes so they can not be utilize in same manners. The effect of glass ceiling or artificial barriers for women
    is also a contributor to the gender wage gap or income disparity and is one of the barriers to reach women to top
    positions of job hierarchies (Chapel Hill 2001). According to The American People Census 2000: Gender
    Inequality at Work.

  15. Gender discrimination is prevalent in Pakistani society but causes of gender discrimination are usually
    misunderstood .Usually this discrimination is influenced by cultural norms and traditions, religion, region.
    Human beings belong to two ***es. Both genders are different biologically and socially, in their needs, fields of
    responsibilities. Physically a female is made to make family, relations, serve and trained human beings gently
    and male is made for hardships to construct, bear workload and struggle for earning. Both are equal in basic
    human rights but gentleness of woman need to be secure by strength of man .Both are made for different
    purposes so they can not be utilize in same manners. The effect of glass ceiling or artificial barriers for women
    is also a contributor to the gender wage gap or income disparity and is one of the barriers to reach women to top
    positions of job hierarchies (Chapel Hill 2001). According to The American People Census 2000: Gender
    Inequality at Work

  16. Gender discrimination is a big menace in our society and especially in entire Pakistan…It is something very nice to give awareness regarding the rights of women as they have the equal rights as man do…..

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