Chief Editor
Quaid-e-Azam said in a speech in
1944, “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by
side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity
that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners.”
The lives of Pakistani women have
changed during the past 30 years and they are more empowered and emancipated
then they were ever before. More and more women are entering the workforce
today as their predecessors, who made the first time at the work place and also
made life easier for other women, lent them the encouragement to do so. But
still women are facing many problems and discrimination and also harassment in
work force.
Women empowerment refers to the
ability of women to transform economic and social development when empowered to
fully participate in the decisions that affect their lives through leadership,
training, coaching consulting and the provision of enabling tools for women to
lead within their communities, religions and countries.
Women empowerment generally has
three components. firstly, women's sense of self worth. secondly, their rights
to have a power of control their own lives ,both within and outside home.
lastly, their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a just
social and economic order nationally, internationally and universally.
Empowerment has multiple,
interrelated and interdependent dimensions: economic, social, personal and
political dimensions. Economic empowerment means to empower women economically by
giving her rights of properties. lands, financial responsibilities, adequate
shares in jobs, business opportunities etc. In social dimensions, it means
women's social status should be equal to that of man by avoiding all
discriminations based on injustice and inequality. accordingly the women are
required to have respectable status in society, importunity to raise voice,
struggle etc. Politically, women should be empowered by reserving their seats
in national as well as provincial assemblies and providing their independent
right of one woman one vote. Personally, they should be given equal liberty and
freedom in their personal affairs, such as ,in case of marriage, vocational
pursuit etc .As a whole, women empowerment aims at providing women with their social,
economic, political and personal rights.
Legal aspect
Let's take a look at various laws
or bill passed regarding women in Pakistan.
The Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (2010)
The objective of this Act is to
create a safe working environment for women, which is free of harassment, abuse
and intimidation with a view to fulfilling their right to work with dignity.
Harassment is one of the biggest hurdles faced by the working women preventing
others who want to work to bring themselves and their families out of poverty.
This Act will pave the way for women to participate more fully in the
development of the country. This Act builds on the principles of equal
opportunity to women and their right to earn a livelihood without any fear of
discrimination as stipulated in the Constitution. This Act complies with the
government's commitment to high international labour standards and empowerment
of women. It also adheres to the Human Rights Declaration, the United Nations
Convention for Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and
ILO's Convention 100 and 111 on workers' rights. It adheres to the principles
of Islam and all other religions which assure women's dignity.
This Act requires all public and
private organizations to adopt an internal code of conduct and a
complain/appeals mechanism aimed at establishing a safe working environment for
all working women.
Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (2008)
The Domestic Violence (Prevention
and Protection) Bill was passed unanimously by the National Assembly on August
4, 2009, but the bill lapsed after the Senate failed to pass it within the
three months period required under the Constitution.
Legislators from both opposition
and government parties told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that even though President
Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani supported the bill, it was delayed by
unofficial opposition from some ministers.
The Domestic Violence bill seeks
to prevent violence against women and children with a network of protection committees
and protection officers and prompt trials of suspected abusers.
The measure makes sexual
harassment or intimidation punishable by three years in prison, a 500,000 rupee
fine, or both. The bill includes protection in public places such as markets, public
transport, streets or parks, and more private places, such as workplaces,
private gatherings, and homes.
Hudood Ordinance (1979)
The Hudood Ordinance was enacted
in 1979 as part of General Muhammad Ziaul Haq's Islamisation and replaced or
revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill. The Hudood Law was intended to
implement Sharia law, by enforcing punishments mentioned in the Holy Quran and
Sunnah for zina, qazf, offence against property, and drinking. As for zina, a
woman alleging rape is required to provide four adult male eyewitnesses. The
ordinance has been criticised as leading to hundreds of incidents where a woman
subjected to rape, or even gang rape, was eventually accused of zina and
imprisoned becoming a victim of extremely unjust propaganda.
In 2006, then President Pervez
Musharraf again proposed reforms in the ordinance. On November 15, 2006, the
Women's Protection Bill was passed by the NA, allowing rape to be prosecutable
under civil law. The bill was ratified by the Senate on November 23, 2006, and
became law after President Musharraf signed it on December 1, 2006.
Religious aspect
In Islam the importance of women
and their success as human beings, is measured with completely different
criteria: their fear of Allah and obedience to Him, and fulfillment of the
duties He has entrusted them with, particularly that of bearing, rearing and
teaching children.
Nevertheless, Islam is a
practical religion, and responds to human needs and life situations. Many women
need, or wish, to work for various reasons. For example, they may possess a
needed skill, such as a teacher or a doctor. While Islam does not prohibit
women working outside her home, it does stipulate that the following
restrictions be followed to protect the dignity and honour of women and the
purity and stability of the Islamic society, the conduct of women, after all,
is the backbone of any society:
Political aspect
The political representation of women in Pakistan is higher
than India, Sri Lanka and Iran. Pakistan is listed as 45th in the
Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) list of women in national parliaments and
stood ahead of several developed democracies, including Canada, the UK and the
US. The only positive development thus far has remained the relatively large
representation of women in the National Assembly, the Senate and provincial
assemblies in comparison to other countries. Of the 342 seats in the NA, women
now comprise 22.2 per cent of those seats. In the Senate, women make up 17 per
cent of the parliamentary seats. This indeed is significant departure from the
past considering that women are often discouraged from entering politics.
Pakistan is also one of the 30 countries which have a woman as Speaker of the
National Assembly.
The political growth of a country requires both male and
female participation in the government affairs. Women representation in the
government ensures that work is done for the overall good of the woman folk.
However, the woman participation in the state structure calls for
responsibility on the part of women and requires them with intellect taking up
the posts instead of women who have been selected by their male counterparts.
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