Nature has blessed a woman with immense abilities, if she uses these abilities properly, she can climb the biggest mountain. A woman is before us in many forms and in each form she has fulfilled her role well. As a mother, sister, daughter and wife, every form of a woman is ideal. International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time in 1911 to pay tribute to the eternal sacrifices of women and to give them a rightful place in society and equal rights with men. The purpose of celebrating this day is to shed light on gender inequality around the world so that women can get their legitimate and equal rights like men. Through this campaign, awareness is provided about the elimination of gender discrimination and awareness is raised among people. This day is to recognize the achievements of women in the fields of economy, economics, culture and politics.
A ceremony in this regard was held at the Consulate of China in Karachi. The International Women’s Day reception was hosted by Yang Yundong, Consulate General of China in Karachi. In which women representatives from Sindh and Balochistan and overseas Chinese women participated. Consul General Yang Yundong introduced the positive career achievements of Chinese women in the new era through detailed data and clear examples. Mentioned the perseverance and tireless efforts of Chinese and Pakistani women in all professions. They also expressed their willingness to deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of women with the Pakistani side and jointly promote women’s career development and further promote China-Pakistan relations.
Just as women around the world have worked hard and struggled to achieve their position and status, Chinese women have suffered a lot in the past and endured oppression. There was a time when Chinese women wore iron shoes. They had to struggle a lot to end this ritual, but now the enlightened women of the new generation have entered a new era. They have come a long way to get equal status in the society. Now she is also a director of big firms, a top executive and also runs a private business. A large number of Chinese women are involved in the journalism profession. The China Women Journalists Association was established in 1986. Through this association, women journalists inform each other about their problems and experiences. The number of women journalists in China was one-third of the total number of journalists at that time. Some of them held top organizational positions, while 3.5 percent were women editor-in-chiefs. In 1898, China’s first women’s newspaper was published.
Chinese women are playing an important role in the development of China, as well as they are developing their skills in politics and political affairs. According to reports, out of a total of 2,980 representatives of the 13th National People’s Congress, 742 women were included, which is a quarter of the total number of representatives. While the total 2,158 delegates of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference included 440 women, which is a fifth of the total number. Chinese women will be active as representatives and delegates in the social development and political arena of China.
While China has pledged to eradicate world poverty, it has made gender equality and women’s empowerment central to its foreign policy and national security. President Xi Jinping has said in one of his messages that ” Doing a good job in women’s work is not only related to women’s own development, he said but also related to family harmony, social harmony, national development and national progress”
China has developed and implemented equal policies for men and women. Chinese women have been given the right to equal pay and equal work. China has liberated its women from conservative and patriarchal values. The role and values of women in development were redefined and restructured as a result of which women progressed rapidly in various fields. Now it can be said with certainty that women in China are playing an important role in social, economic, cultural and political.
As global economic trends change and the economy becomes technology-driven, the role of women’s education in women’s economic development is becoming important. China has strictly implemented compulsory education laws that have benefited girls and women. Female education in China has changed women’s preferences. Education has enabled them to decide their own destiny in work and family. By participating in the job market, they have become independent and self-reliant. These independent educated women are now able to empower their next generation. Pakistani women constitute almost half of the total population, but only 20 percent of them are employed in the economic market. If we want to develop our economy on modern lines, we have to change this situation.
Like China, we have to restructure our economy. The most favorable economic sectors for women in Pakistan are agriculture, service industry and handicraft sector. Therefore, women should be provided with light agricultural technology on the basis of easy credit so that they can become independent agri-entrepreneurs and farmers in their small farms. Chinese women are now running small agricultural enterprises in rural areas. Educated and skilled women can transform our society and economy with agricultural technology. China is rich in such technology. We should benefit from agricultural technology from our host country China. Pakistan has made basic education compulsory but these policies have not yielded satisfactory results. We also need to make plans with China to establish new schools for girls and to increase the capacity of existing schools.
China is highly admired by our people and people want to emulate Chinese examples and model of economic development. There is no anti-China sentiments and expressions in Pakistan. We can take advantage of this favorable pro-China mindset and put our women on the right track of economic development. China is providing numerous opportunities and opening up new spaces for women’s economic participation within Pakistan. We should take necessary steps to harness the potential of women. We should learn from China where nearly 70% of women are contributing to the Chinese economy. Political decisions such as the Chinese Communist Party should be taken and given opportunities to advance women at the national level so that women can make up their own minds and begin the journey to the market.