Closing the gender gap

Sindh's first Gender Parity Report is useful precisely because it makes the province's gender divide difficult to obscure. Female literacy stands at 47% against 68% for men, falling to just 27% among rural women. More than 4.08 million girls between five and 16 are out of school. Women constitute only 4.34% of the police force, 18.3% of prosecutors and 13.7% of judges. The report also records 3,085 cases of gender-based violence in 2024.

There has been progress, particularly in maternal health and political participation. Maternal mortality has fallen from 314 to 224 deaths per 100,000 live births, while the number of women contesting general elections increased from 23 in 2018 to 53 in 2024. These improvements deserve recognition. But they also demonstrate why the government must resist the temptation to regard isolated gains as evidence that the broader problem is being solved. A girl who never enters school is less likely to acquire skills, enter formal employment, control an income or participate in public life. The World Bank has similarly identified rural girls as particularly vulnerable to dropping out and argues that improving their enrolment and retention requires interventions addressing several barriers at once. This is why simply announcing more schemes will not be enough. The government needs to make the gender report an accountability instrument. Every department should be given measurable targets. Education should receive the immediate focus. The millions of girls outside school cannot be reached through conventional enrolment drives alone.

The government must also stop treating women's economic participation simply as a matter of employment numbers. Access to skills and essential services determines whether women can enter better-paid and more secure work. Sindh already knows where the gaps are. What is required now is the political and administrative discipline.