🎓Asignatura: Historia de los países de habla inglesa / History of english-speaking countries. ✏ Título: Project on gender equality in Pakistan 🌏Objetivo 5: Igualdad de género y empoderamiento de la mujer / Goal 5: Gender equality and women's empowerment By: María Valle Garrido

1. ​ ​PROJECT ON GENDER EQUALITY IN PAKISTAN
Valle Garrido, María
History of English-Speaking Countries
Group B
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2. INDEX
Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 2
Highlights for 2015 ……………………………………………………….. 5
Highlights for 2016………………………………………………………... 7
Highlights for 2017………………………………………………………... 8
Highlights for 2018……………………………………………………….. 10
Highlights for 2019……………………………………………………….. 12
Highlights for 2020………………………………………………………... 14
Goals for the future………………………………………………………... 17
Conclusion / Personal opinion…………………………………………….. 18
Webgraphy……………………………………………………………….... 19
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3. Pakistan, one of the most populous countries in the world, is a South Asian state. It is
officially called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its anthem is the following one:
https://youtu.be/Em2odgXxfZ8
Despite being an English-speaking country, they also speak​ urdu​, known as ​lashkari​.
​ The flag of Pakistan The geographical situation of Pakistan
Although it is obvious that Pakistan's culture is very diverse, for example, they speak many
languages, its musical richness, the poetry in its culture is also very important and sports,
especially cricket.
In addition one of the most striking things about their culture is the celebration of their
amazing weddings, the clothing and accessories of the people who attend.
​Wedding in Pakistan
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4. Although at first glance a country may appear to be fully developed, this is not the reality.
I will focus on gender equality, which has not yet been achieved in Pakistan.
We have to know that ending discrimination against women is more than a basic right. It is
absolutely necessary if we want a sustainable future because gender equality would help the
economy and development of the world.
The United Nations Development Programme has ensured that there has been great progress
over the last twenty years.
However, even if there is an increase in women in different jobs or more girls in the
education system, inequalities still exist, I mean, women are denied some essential rights. For
example, here are some shocking facts:
Pakistan currently ranks second lowest in the world in terms of gender equality, according to
the Global Gender Gap Index. It has a gender gap of 55 %, so it is one of the countries with
the largest gender gap, and consequently the country's competitiveness is one of the lowest.
There, one can see the difficulties women have in accessing sexual health rights, entering the
labour market, having an economic life outside the home or accessing decent education,
which prevents them from making informed decisions about their sexuality, for example.
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5. 4

6. If we focus on the development and impact that gender equality has had in recent decades,
especially since 2015, we can better understand the process carried out in Pakistan.
Firstly, the government failed to take adequate measures to stop abuses against women and
girls, such as rape, hundreds of honour killings, domestic violence, forced marriages and even
acid attacks.
In March, the province of Punjab passed a law providing for stiffer penalties for those who
marry children. However, the law did not raise the age of marriage from 16 to 18.
In addition, in the same year the government's Council of Islamic Ideology denounced
Punjab's reform. The government did not address the issue of forced conversion to Islam of
Hindu and Christian women.
Cases of abused women and girls in Pakistan exceeded 95% of the population. There are 4
million women who have suffered and are suffering from burns. Besides, the operations they
could undergo were very expensive and with a result that did not guarantee an improvement,
there were always serious consequences.
The medical team of the Aragonese foundation 'Sigo adelante' moved in April 2015 and
operated on 15 patients free of charge.
Furthermore, women were denied the right to vote in several parts of the country. In May,
during a parliamentary by-election in Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, none of the 50,000
women elected in the constituency were allowed to vote. Polling stations were guarded by
"baton-wielding men" who blocked the few women who attempted to do it.
As for younger girls, the sexual abuse they suffered was rampant. In August a child
pornography network was discovered that had sold over 400 videos of sexual abuse to more
than 270 children in Kasur, Punjab. This harassment network had been operating for more
than 10 years.
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7. Sadia, a young woman who was gang - raped The rape of this 23-year-old girl was
filmed and shared.
Sadia (not her real name) thought that silence could protect her from the humiliation of being
recognized as a victim of sexual violence.
But in the days and weeks that followed, two versions of her suffering began to circulate
online: one lasted five minutes, the other 40.
The images were widely shared via Bluetooth and some clips reached social networks such as
Facebook.
In fact, it can still be shared: Pakistan does not have the laws that can prevent this.
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8. In 2016, Pakistan made quite important commitments to gender equality and women's human
rights, such as the Protection from Harassment of Women in the Workplace Act or the
National Plan of Action on Human Rights.
Even the United Nations Women Pakistan tried to raise awareness among those who are
happy to accept dowry (an amount of money or property that a woman's parents give to the
man she marries).
With the slogan "Stop Jahez Khori", they designed a henna template to show solidarity with
the cause so that everyone could show their support for the victims.
On 18 May 2016 in Islamabad, women's economic participation and empowerment was
discussed at an event organized by the National Commission on the Status of Women
(NCSW) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of
Women (UN-Women).
In addition, a report was created that studied data, through national surveys, on the role of
women in the economy to reflect on the situation.
The Chief Guest and Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women in Punjab, Ms.
Fauzia Viqar, congratulated the NCSW and UN Women for highlighting the importance of
the work they were doing for women and stressed that this would help to make the right
decisions in the future and improve the development plans of the Government of Pakistan.
Despite these commitments, Pakistan remained one of the countries with the worst tolerance
for equality.
​Stop Jahez Khori
Help link :​ ​Click here to download the henna stencil for the use of the general public to express support for
this cause.
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9. Then, in 2017, the Pakistani government passed a motion that 5% of the candidates for
general and regional elections should be women and that at least 10% of the votes should
come from citizens in each constituency, a proposal that was to be approved by Parliament,
which was met with a cool reception by activists.
Thus, the Minister of Justice confirmed that the presumption that had prevented women from
voting would be avoided.
In 2013, only 43% of all registered voters and only 3% of all candidates were women.
Muddassir Rizvi, the head of the NGO Free and Fair Election Network Programmes,
considered that these were obviously insufficient changes.
Furthermore, in terms of important political positions, Pakistan was led by Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s until she was assassinated in 2007, so there were still very few
women in political positions.
A girl holds the Pakistani band during a protest
However, 2017 brought positive points such as the opening of the first centre against violence
to women, in Multan.
Salman Sufi, the director general of the centre decided to open it because he saw women in
Pakistan were very vulnerable. This centre offers medical facilities, a police station, a
forensic laboratory, legal assistance and of course post-traumatic rehabilitation.
In the first six months they received more than 1000 cases from the Multan district alone, and
this was not all, there were many more.
In addition, a free 24-hour hotline was set up where women could make any complaint
immediately.
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10. Police talking to a domestic violence survivor at the anti-violence centre in Pakistan
We should also mention Sima Kamil who became the first woman to run a big Pakistani
bank, which was a big breakthrough that year.
Sima Kamil ​
Video about Sima Kalil:​ ​https://youtu.be/wkdJwzv39jo
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11. As for 2018, the outlook was complex. On the one hand, the media were full of professional
women, such as journalists or lawyers and even officers in the Army.
On the other hand, violence against women remained a serious problem despite laws
protecting women and institutions such as NGOs: forced marriages, rapes, harassment at
work, murders and girls outside school. There were still 13 million girls out of school in
Pakistan. In rural areas, 60% of the country, adolescent girls did not leave their father's house
except to get married; in a marriage decided on after the fact.
Nosheen Gul Kharal, an advocate, experienced discrimination on a daily basis. According to
she said: "Women lawyers only get family law cases, for general matters men are preferred,
they are trusted more." (Gul Kharal, 2018, EL PAÍS).
https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/07/23/actualidad/1532357717_869112.html
​ Nosheen Gul Kharal
Link​:​https://www.facebook.com/NA-54-Nosheen-Gul-Kharal-Advocate-Official-171462380
8628789/
Anyone who attended an election rally in Pakistan would realise how complicated the
situation is and was: in some cases, only in the most notable cities, women could attend,
provided that they were relatives of the candidate running for office. And not only that, but
they also had to be separated from the men by a barrier.
In addition, in some regions, local customs prevented candidates from leaving their homes to
campaign. In the extreme cases it is believed that women should not broadcast their image.
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12. Pakistani women during a rally in Rawalpindi
However, in the same year a very important and remarkable event happened, women in
Pakistan dared to march and did not care what men thought.
Hundreds of ladies marched in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad shouting: "Aurat aiee, aurat
aiee, tharki teri shaamath aiee!” (The women are here, the harassers must be afraid!)
All of them were celebrated on March 8, the International Women's Day. Word spread
through Facebook and Twitter posts, for example.
The goals were ambitious: a demand for recognition of women's rights and gender equality,
and an end to gender-based violence, among other objectives. But the primary intention was
to raise the morale of Pakistani women.
Before the march began, ladies activists took the stage and spoke of their struggles and
triumphs.
The March brought together women from all social, ethnic and religious backgrounds.
University students cheered on the old feminist icons. The posters in English and Urdu said
"Women are king" and "Stop killing women". Children waved flags and some men joined in
while others filmed what was happening with their phones.
​Call for justice
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13. In 2019, despite the fact that social inequality was permanent, significant progress was made
in the fight for gender equality.
For instance, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in north-western Pakistan, the government hired its
first female ombudswoman in January of that year with the aim of reducing harassment of
women in the workplace. Six months later, the International Labour Organization adopted an
international labour standard on violence and harassment in the world of work.
For Fauzia Viqar, a pioneering women's rights activist, all this was great progress, as
compared to previous generations, the situation had progressed.
​Fauzia Viqar
Link to learn more:​ ​https://pcsw.punjab.gov.pk/
Link Women's contribution to economy is not recognized or acknowledged - Fauzia
Viqar: ​https://youtu.be/MRXM4b18tlw
In terms of legislative progress, it was slow but there had been notable results, there is now
political commitment even though financial support was poor.
Dramatic progress had also been made in the field of education. For example, in Punjab,
young women accounted for 50% of students in universities and colleges. However, less than
10% of women with degrees and diplomas entered the labour . Another striking fact was that
women's literacy increased.
Despite this, Pakistani women still had a long way to go before they could enjoy full social
and economic equality, as they were still forced to raise and care for their children,
harassment and killings continued.
In the World Report 2019, Human Rights Watch quotes Pakistani activists who said there
were actually 1,000 "honour killings" a year.
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14. Although awareness and sensitivity has increased, therefore, there have been more
complaints because they have dared to take the step, only a small fraction of the cases
continue to be reported.
However in some areas, there has been great progress, for example in politics: there were
more women participating in the debates in Parliament.
They still lagged behind in education and health, women continued to be marginalised and
were not provided with the same equality.
Furthermore, according to a new index published by the World Bank, globally women are
only recognised as having three-quarters of the legal rights enjoyed by men, which means
that inequalities remain and they cannot play the role they really want to.
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15. This year, in 2020, the Global Gender Gap Index report ranked Pakistan 151st out of 153
countries in total. Furthermore, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF), a
survey confirmed that Pakistan is the sixth most dangerous country for women to live in.
Since 2018, for the third time, a group of Pakistani feminist organisations called “Hum
Aurtein” (We are women) organised the “Aurat March” (women's march) to celebrate
International Women's Day.
Thousands of women and even children and men marched on the streets to support women
victims of male chauvinism, who suffer torture, injustice and humiliation every day.
During the march they were seen carrying signs demanding that they have basic rights that
have been abolished.
​Tweets about the feminist march of organizers of this one
March in Pakistan
Video - March in Islamabad:​ ​https://twitter.com/i/status/1236892770545139713
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16. Unfortunately, even on that day, they faced unpleasant situations, for instance, in Islamabad:
The demonstrators belonging to Islamist groups in the Red Mosque (which consists of several
local militant groups and a religious party allied to the Taliban) attacked the International
Women's Day march (Aurat March). They threw stones, sticks, bricks, mud and their own
shoes at them.
The police tried to isolate rival demonstrations by barricading them.
As the event was ending, dozens of men tried to break through the barricade, including one
who was holding a girl on his shoulders.
Several religious groups condemned Pakistani feminists, accusing them of trying to
brainwash the other women.
In addition, one group organised the Mard March (in reaction to slogans in Aurat March) and
tried to enter the site of the Aurat March with flags in support of the writer Khalil ur Rehman
Qamar, who had a very disagreeable discussion on television at the beginning of March with
the well-known feminist Marvi Simid. However, security officials prevented the men from
interrupting the demonstration.
Fortunately, in other cities in Pakistan the feminist march was held more peacefully.
Video of the attack:​ ​https://twitter.com/i/status/1236691936590942208
​Mard March
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17. It is also important to know that this year the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been
very negative for women and have aggravated existing inequalities.
Women's unpaid care work has increased significantly as a result of school closures and the
increased needs of the elderly. In addition, other women work disproportionately in insecure
labour markets.
The pandemic has also led to a large increase in violence against women and girls, especially
domestic violence. With blockade measures and perimeter closures, many women are trapped
at home with their abusers, struggling to access services that are restricted.
Therefore, putting women and girls at the centre of the economy will improve development
outcomes and sustainability for all and put the world back on track to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals.
This means that women must be included in COVID-19 planning and decision-making,
inequalities in unpaid care work must be eliminated, and plans must be made that focus on
the lives and future of women and girls.
UN Women has developed a response to mitigate the results of the COVID-19 crisis on girls
and ladies and guarantee a recovery that's useful through.
Reducing domestic violence, social and economic protection for women, equitable sharing of
care work, enabling women to make decisions.
The COVID-19 pandemic therefore offers an opportunity to take radical and positive action
to redress inequalities and build a fairer and more resilient world.
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18. As we have seen, the situation in Pakistan today has not improved as much as it should have,
which means that there is an absolute need to develop measures to end the existing gender
inequality.
The joint project on "Towards Gender Parity in Pakistan" is trying to ensure that women have
equal opportunities socially and economically, while at the same time improving
sustainability.
To this end, it is important to strengthen institutions, systems, activities and programmes that
take into account that equality must exist.
Furthermore, gender equality, as we have already mentioned, is one of the sustainable
development goals and although efforts to promote this equality are evident in the framework
of Pakistan's Vision 2025, more women are participating in the political ambit, more women
have access to a decent education, fewer are forced into marriage; there is still much to be
done to improve the realities of women and girls throughout the country, there are still many
laws and regulations that discriminate against women, in the political arena, as well as in the
social and economic spheres. The most important targets for the coming years are to be
achieved by 2030:
- Finish discrimination against all types of ladies.
- Eliminate all types of violence against all girls and women within the public and
personal spheres, together with trafficking and sexual exploitation.
- Eliminate practices such as early and forced marriage or female mutilation.
- Assist through the availability of public services, infrastructure and public service
delivery policies.
- Learning to value domestic work and unpaid care through support for women.
- Ensure the full and effective participation of girls and therefore the provision of equal
opportunities for each genders.
- Ensure universal access to sexual and generative health and rights.
- Undertake reforms to provide girls equal rights to economic resources, furthermore as
access to possession and management of land and alternative types of property,
money services, inheritance and natural resources.
- Increase the employment of technology to boost data and communication.
- Promoting gender equality at all ages.
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19. In conclusion, gender equality is a goal that has not yet been achieved. We must therefore
continue to fight for a fairer society in which men and women have the same social,
economic and cultural rights.
In my view, one of the main problems today is the confusion some people have with the term
"feminism", mistakenly confusing it with the superiority of women against men.
This problem, I think, comes from education, since they have not been educated in equality.
Therefore, perhaps the solution would be to create new educational projects that teach all
children from an early age to value all people equally and to recognise that we all have the
same rights and duties.
It must be made clear that this is not a struggle of men against women, but a collective
struggle against the opposite of feminism, ignorance.
We can all do something to try to change the world, now is the time to react!
Will you join the struggle?
Video about gender equality to understand better the situation:
https://youtu.be/4viXOGvvu
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