Dawn of the 21st century saw a renewed intensity in the efforts aimed at empowering women. Feminist along with United Nations worked tirelessly for breaking the shackles of gender equality. Even the academic circle begins a new, to promote gender studies as an academic discipline means to increase awareness regarding the importance of women empowerment.
According to Nelson Mandela, women and girls represent the half of the world’s population and the half of the potential also without empowering women the progress of any nation in any field is impossible. Empowered women can create a more inclusive and equitable society by contributing in different domains.
In Pakistan, women empowerment has been considered crucial not only for fueling economic growth by labor force participation, but also necessary for socio-political success of the nation, as empowered women contribute to overall well-being of their society and make right and effective decisions for Pakistan’s development. There were different women in Pakistan’s history that have played an effective role in every domain of life. Politically, there are various Pakistani leaders remained in Pakistan who created awareness of suffrage in people, as well as, promote them to stand for their legal rights.
For instance, Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah and Benazir Bhutto’s name are worth mentioning here. While, in economic domain women are also contributing high in increasing the country’s GDP value. No doubt, Pakistan has taken some supporting initiative in order to empower its women in every field. However, all these efforts were met in limited progress. A cursory glance on national arena reveals women; unfortunately, the most subjugated and suppressed subject of the society in all walks of life. This attitude of the country makes women empowerment an elusive dream. However, by adopting some effective measures and suggesting some policies, Pakistan would become successful in empowering its women and in getting progress in political and socio-economic field.
Before elucidating that how women empowerment acts as a catalyst for political and socioeconomic progress in Pakistan. It is imperative to know that what the term women empowerment entails. Thus, women empowerment refers to process of granting women the power and resources to make their decision and participate equally in various aspects of life. It has great importance as, it breaks down all social barriers and stereotypes by promoting gender equality increases productivity and economic growth by workforce participation and it actively shapes a better future for whole nation by giving education to all girls.
According to UNICEF, men and women, boys and girls nourish in such a way that they can equally utilize the resources for making themselves empowered and independent. This can only be done through giving them access to all facilities in political and economic domain. In economic domain, they have provided equal work forces; equal wages and safe environmentto do work safely. While, socially women should empower in sense that they can take their life decisions as men take.
Women empowerment acts as a catalyst for political and socioeconomic progress in Pakistan because in social domain, empowered women have great roles in nation is progress or in societal background they contribute to overall well-being of their families and communities by raising their voices for women’s basic rights like, health and educational development as well as, the right to political participation. In this way, they serve as role models to inspire other women and girls to pursue their dreams and break societal barriers.
For instance, Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist advocated girls education and has become a global symbol of human empowerment. She stood against her the militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban, that has begun to occupy and control over Swat Valley and imposed their version of Shariah; including prohibiting the girl’s education, and death penalty for barbers, music shop owners. They were also against the vaccination as, it was a western conspiracy. They also required women to wear shuttlecock burqas, and they banned them from going to market.
Malala Yousafzai openly spoke against them and advocated the women education in the form of poetry and other literature. The activities of Malala and her supportive dialogues inspired various girls to take their higher education and serve the nation in their respective fields. So, a number of books that have been written on the activities of Malala indicate that empowered women can act as a catalyst in socio-political and economic grounds of Pakistan. Not only in contributing overall well-being of their communities, but empowered women play an imperative role in bringing diversive perspectives and priorities to decision making.
There are various situations in every society regarding girls’ education, their marriages as well as their careers and health access. Usually, in patriarchal system, women are not given the right of taking their life decision and men take their life decisions on their behalf. Thus women empowerment makes women bold and enables them to spend their life as an independent entity. In this way, they can also take better decisions for other uneducated women. How women empowerment gives woman strength and courage to fight with all those people who are against her freedom.
The example of a Pakistani women Mukhtaram Mai is on the top in this case, who decided for her life security and encouraged other women to stand against the jirga system, by analyzing each component of international dialogue standard, offer due diligence. It is evident that Pakistan has been ready to do its duty to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and compensate in case of Mukhtaran Mai. She also made a welfare organization by her own name just to help, support, and educate Pakistani women, and acts as an outspoken woman for their rights. Although, she was not a literate woman but an illiterate divorced living in a rural village of Meerwala. However, it proved by her action that how much women empowerment is necessary for the social prosperity of Pakistan.
Similarly, for the sake of the country, women decisions are also very effective. By the cursory glance on the world, the promotional steps taken by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto comes before. She has implemented policies focused on child poverty reduction and climate change to reflect her commitment in social and environmental issues.
The leading role of Benazir in Pakistani politics always supported Pakistani women economically which shows that women participation in politics leads to more inclusive and diverse political landscape resulting in better developmental outcome for the countries. During her election campaigns in 1988 Benazir Bhutto’s voiced concern over social issues of women health and discrimination against women. She announced different plans to settle women’s police station, courts, and women development bank. She also promised to repeal ‘controversial’ Hudood law that curtailed the women’s rights. The leading role of some personalities of Pakistan like Fatima Jinnah, Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, and Benazir Bhutto have proved that women empowerment acts as a catalyst in socio-political and economic domains of Pakistan.
Similarly, empowered women can play a better role in creating awareness in women for suffrage by positively working for them in political domains as presidents and prime ministers. Moreover, they can make the girls and uneducated women aware regarding the importance of their vote, and by delivering seminars and lectures through different campaigns and platforms and encourage them to not waste their vote. Additionally, educated and empowered women contribute in economy by increasing labor force participation.
The IMF studies show the policies that improve access to educational opportunities and provide finance to women for equal participation as men have, because it increases equality of human capital for future generation. It is known that with the basic education, a woman is more likely to obtain job and earn higher wage. According to The Economist Report, only 1% increase in female education raises the average level of GDP by 0.37%. They not only earn higher wages but also spend their money on things that support their family. In economic ground, empowered women also produce better resources than men, as in agricultural and natural resources sector. Women healed long term benefits in terms of growth and efficiency.
According to World Bank, almost 12 million women are economically active in this sector. They’re actively engaged in these activities like production of crops that account for half of the export earnings in a country like Pakistan that is heavily dependent upon female labor. Moreover empowered women can play a better role in reducing poverty and unemployment and make their nation economically prosperous because if there is lack of jobs for women or girls according to their educational background; in this sense they can create their own earning source more likely than that of men by developing businesses of hand making embroidery clothes by home tuitions as well as by gaining benefit of social media and internet they can initiate online businesses to participate in the country’s economy and to uphold their family thus women empowerment is necessary for reducing increasing poverty of Pakistan.
Despite our these advantages of women empowerment for progress of the nation, there is still gender inequality due to which women are facing a number of challenges in getting empowerment. Some of these are as: women are deprived from the excess of health facilities. Surely, health and education are considered as the chief necessities of life. It is for this reason that these two are pillars of any society, however; women in Pakistan are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to health and education both. Resultantly, they are continuously suffering from various chronic diseases such as, anemia, cancer and other reproductive disorders.
The situation is no better in educational front also. Global literacy rate is 89% versus female literacy rate is 82% is a glaring example in this regard. In Pakistan, gendered system of education is more pronounced; Malala Yousafzai a younger feminist who was shot in her head by Taliban. So, gender disparity in both of these sectors in Pakistan is also a common sight.
In addition to this, gender stereotypes limit the space for women in social domain. Women are more likely to be subdued by traditions, customs and some religious practices. In highly conservative society women are considered as liabilities. Hence, the birth of a baby boy is cherished while that of a baby girl is frowned upon. Moreover in some societies, discriminative practices such as marriages with the Quran, drowery practices, acids attacks,and female genital mutilation occur quite frequently. Similarly women education is discouraged on grounds that the girls would be married and there is no point in investing in their education. Lastly, in Pakistan women are not given their due inheritance. All these factors show that women fall prey to cult of domesticity.
Moving on, women securities cannot be separated from issues of patriarchy gender based violence still persist in patriarchal society of Pakistan that refers to a broad set of aggressive tactics, targeted primarily against women. These tactics include arm twisting, slapping, emotional abuse and verbal abuse etc. various examples are presented while the gang rape of Mukhtaran Mai is worth quoting here.
In order to settle a feud, she was used as contemporary chattel. Similarly, Tehmina Durani, in her book ‘My Feudal Lord’ gives an account of how a few lords deliberately subjugate women in order to cling on power. Gender based violence is another manifestation of growing gender inequality in Pakistani society. Similarly, women are facing violence in society by subjecting to sexual harassment especially at workplace that’s a grave social evil it not only undermines the worth of women as individuals, but also sets a bad precedent for future generations.Yet, it is a pity that sexual harassment in offices is a common occurrence in world of today.
While it has been proved that women empowerment is necessary for the progress of Pakistan as they are acting as a catalyst in each sector, it becomes imperative to propose certain steps and formulate such policies that would go about solving the challenges faced by Pakistani women. First of all, there is a need to provide women all the basic necessities and rights of their life like education, basic health in order to actively participate in country’s progress through different fields. This is the cognitive first step in order to ameliorate the plight of women to promote gender study as an academic discipline. Education is the key to differentiate between right and wrong. This differentiation also teaches people that how to be appropriate productive member of a society. So, adding the discipline ‘Gender Study’ can create awareness regarding women empowerment.
Allocating special seats and quarters around 10% to 15% in all sectors specially, in politics or to engage Pakistani women in political participation can help them play effective roles in decision making regarding, nation’s important issues, and leadership. Moreover, the discriminatory laws must be repelled in the society and give them equal opportunities as given to men. There is a need to take serious actions against violence with them at workplaces.
Last but not the least, as gender inequalities is unfortunately a global phenomenon. The global community has formulated policies and laws to tackle the situation head on, and to meet specific needs of women. The efforts of the United Nations are paramount in this regard. The global body took upon itself the risk and the task to promote women empowerment.
To conclude, women empowerment is no doubt a necessary factor for progress of any nation. This time, it not only boosts the country’s economy; by participation of women in labor force, but can also make it prosperous and successful in political domain. Besides all these benefits of women empowerment, there is inequality everywhere in the world, due to which women face a number of challenges in their society. Gender based violence at workplace are common in them. Thus, if Pakistan wants to become a developed state in the world, it has to empower its women. All of the inequalities and challenges will be over, and Pakistan will succeed by implementing some effective steps and policies for the betterment of women empowerment. It is imperative for it to keep driving in order to dream of women empowerment, because it is a saying of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah: “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 shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.”
