‘Identify roadblocks in economically empowering women’

Speakers at public-private dialogue call for removing impediments in including women in the economy

Even though many talk about it, there is no clear idea on what exactly involves women’s economic empowerment, and more importantly, what hinders it.

This was stated by Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Secretary General and former Senator Farhatullah Babar during a public-private dialogue on gender-focused economic reforms at the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in Islamabad on Friday.

“The more you do, the more you achieve, the more you achieve, the more you understand what more needs to be done,” Babar said, adding that the issue of women’s economic participation was inseparable from their other issues.

“We all know that women are subjected to violence, discrimination of identity, and inequality before the law and it is a proven fact that a large number of women are disenfranchised. The society refuses to give them their due right to work; discouraging them to collectively voice their concerns,” he said.

There is no recognition of their domestic work and their economic contribution in the informal sector. Even if recognized, they face issues like non-payment and under-payment, he said.

In 1950, the provisions of ‘equal pay for women’ and ‘anti-torture law’ were enshrined in the first annexe that would pave a path to the drafting of the Constitution in 1956, Babar said. However, the 1956 constitution and all the others and amendments which came after that were silent on the subject.

He suggested that the informal sector – which comprises nearly 8.5 million workers with a significant percentage of woman – needs to be recognised and regulated. In this regard, he said that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention also recognises the domestic work of women.

“Only by identifying roadblocks, can women be economically empowered. Pakistan is an overly legislated country; it just faces severe implementation challenges,” he said, adding that the flawed and discriminatory criminal justice system along with women’s limited knowledge and access of and to their rights and legal processes respectively, adds fuel to the fire.

He suggested poverty alleviation programmes where women should be the primary beneficiaries for economic relief.

“The existing structures for the status of women including the provincial and federal commissions need to be strengthened. “

Senior PPP leader Dr Nafisa Shah said that the recent gender gap ranking of Pakistan was quite alarming. The poor economic participation of women is one of the major reasons that contribute to Pakistan’s socio-economic and political issues.

Women, she said, are explicitly excluded from the economic sector. However, it must be realized that the economic exclusion of women is as bad as discrimination against women.

Formal banking, she said, remains a ‘no-go’ area for a majority of rural women. Hence, the microfinancing facilities offered to women entrepreneurs should be cognizant of their needs such as low-interest loans facilities and minimum capital requirement.

“Higher interest rates and inadequate microfinancing equate to financial discrimination.”

The participants concurred that a whole-of-society approach is needed to bring about change.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2019.