Converting the gaps into gains in such areas would take us, as a nation, on to the path of development
KARACHI: The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan gives equal rights to both men and women. However, in practice, men are considered superior to women. The reality shows a situation where women rarely appear in positions of power. According to the UNDP Human Development Report, in the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) that listed 185 countries, Pakistan ranks very poorly. The GEM quantitatively measures the empowerment of women on a country basis. The indicators include the measure of inequality in control over earned economic resources, and participation in political and economic decision-making.
The need of the hour is to define, interpret and apply gender-based issues in a purely Pakistani context. Oftentimes, we extrapolate the Western constructs of gender in Pakistani society. We must remember that even in order to achieve the kind of empowerment that the West achieved, it is necessary to seek local, indigenous solutions to gender imbalance. Only then will we be able to reduce the disparities and losses in major areas of national development, such as education, economy and health. Converting the gaps into gains in such areas would take us, as a nation, on to the path of development.
Rana Hassan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2015.
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