The Word Economic Forum’s annual gender report places Pakistan at 145th of 146 states, with only Afghanistan being worse off. The argument might be made that the assumptions behind the index are alien to Pakistan’s culture, but that should not prevent a realization that the picture presented in the report shows Pakistani women as subjected to much more repression than they deserve.
That Pakistan did comparatively better on political participation, may owe something to the fact that women have been reserved 20 percent of all seats in legislatures, but the ranking of 95th is nothing to write home about, and the best that can be said is that it wasn’t below 100.
That was not the case for economic participation and opportunity (145th), health and survival (143rd) and educational attainment (135th). Clearly, there is a crying need for a readjustment of priorities, not just because it is inherently unfair to deprive anyone, man or woman, of health, education of the chance to earn a livelihood, but because it is damaging to society as a whole.
It should also be realized that some of the problems faced are not specific to women, but are more general. Health care and education see women discriminated against, but when there is a shortage of funds, whether it is government or an individual family, women’s needs are put behind. However, the solution, more funds, would also help the sector generally, and thus benefit males too. Working to improve women’s lot should not be seen as a blow for feminism or women’s rights, or even as an act of common justice, but as something essential for the progress of society as a whole, and thus of men also. They should be made to realize that the systemic discrimination against women, which has led to such poor index rankings, is also highly damaging for men also.
