Unfinished agenda of women’s equality in Pakistan

2026-02-12 - 01:36

PAKISTAN’S experience with women’s rights presents a study in contrasts, progress and promise coexist with deep structural inequities. The constitutional and religious frameworks of the state affirm gender equality and over the decades, women have made visible gains in education, healthcare and political representation. Yet, the lived reality for millions of women across the country remains one of restricted mobility, economic exclusion and persistent insecurity. At the heart of this paradox lies a disconnect between legal commitments and social transformation. While the Constitution enshrines equality before the law and freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, entrenched patriarchal norms and weak institutional enforcement prevent many women from enjoying these rights in practice. Pakistan’s Constitution provides a solid legal foundation for women’s equality. Articles 4, 8 and 14 safeguard due process and personal dignity; Articles 25 to 27 prohibit gender-based discrimination and guarantee equal access to public institutions; and Article 34 directs the state to ensure women’s full participation in national life. Beyond these, the Constitution obligates the state to protect marriage, family, motherhood and childhood and to secure humane working conditions, including maternity benefits. As a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Pakistan has pledged to reform discriminatory laws and ensure equality in practice. Legislative progress has been notable in recent years. Measures such as the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (2010), the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act (2016) and the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance (2020) represent important milestones in recognizing women’s right to safety and dignity. However, the gap between law and enforcement remains wide and women’s access to justice continues to depend heavily on geography and class. Women make up nearly half of Pakistan’s population, but their participation in the formal economy is among the lowest in the region. Female labour force participation hovers around 23–24 percent, compared with the global average of 51 percent. While urban women are entering professions in healthcare, education and administration, vast numbers of rural women remain confined to agricultural and home-based labour that is often unpaid and unrecognized. Provincial variations are stark. Women’s workforce participation is highest in Punjab but substantially lower in Balochistan and parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Even where women contribute to farming or family enterprises, they are often classified as “unpaid family workers,” excluded from social protection schemes and devoid of bargaining power or asset ownership. These patterns perpetuate cycles of economic dependency and vulnerability to violence. The structural roots of women’s economic marginalization lie in limited access to education, skills training, finance and property rights. Inheritance barriers, often reinforced by social norms rather than law, further undermine women’s autonomy and financial security. Education remains one of Pakistan’s most visible markers of both progress and inequality. School enrollment has risen by several million since the late 1990s, yet more than five million children remain out of school—of whom roughly 63 percent are girls. Poverty, distance to schools, early marriage and social taboos around female mobility continue to hinder girls’ education, especially in rural and low-income districts. Adult literacy figures tell a similar story. About two-thirds of Pakistan’s 49.5 million illiterate adults are women, reflecting historical neglect and the intergenerational transmission of educational disadvantage. Such disparities not only depress women’s employment prospects but also limit their participation in civic life, politics and decision-making within households. Pakistan’s Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme is often cited globally as a model for extending primary health care to underserved communities. Through this initiative, around 115 million people, predominantly women and children, now have access to basic health services. Antenatal care coverage has improved dramatically: while in the early 1990s only 30 percent of births involved skilled care, recent figures exceed 75 percent nationwide. Despite this commendable progress, maternal mortality remains high and reproductive health infrastructure continues to lag. Malnutrition, high fertility rates in poor districts and low awareness of reproductive rights compound women’s vulnerabilities. Conflict-affected regions and areas with poor transportation infrastructure remain particularly underserved. A few issues illustrate the fragility of women’s rights more sharply than gender-based violence (GBV). Surveys indicate that between 70 and 90% of women have experienced some form of domestic violence during their lifetime. Each year, thousands fall victim to domestic abuse, so-called “honour killings,” acid attacks and other brutalities. While legal frameworks for prosecution have improved, implementation is hindered by institutional bias, social stigma and the persistence of informal justice systems such as Jirgas and Panchayats. Positive signs do exist: religious authorities have publicly condemned honour killings and the judiciary has increasingly delivered exemplary judgments in GBV cases. Yet, until patriarchal notions of “honour” and “obedience” lose their moral authority within communities, legal deterrence alone cannot transform social behaviour. Over the last two decades, institutional mechanisms have emerged to champion women’s rights. The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and its provincial counterparts review laws, advise governments and monitor implementation of gender policies. These bodies, however, often operate with limited budgets, staff and enforcement authority, constraining their capacity to drive systemic change. Civil society has filled many of these gaps. Organizations such as Aurat Foundation and grassroots movements like the Aurat March have been instrumental in exposing injustices, mobilizing public opinion and promoting feminist discourse in the media. These efforts have reframed women’s rights from private concerns to public policy priorities. Yet, women human rights defenders frequently face intimidation, digital harassment and threats to physical safety—an indication of how contested gender equality remains within the national psyche. The persistence of inequality in Pakistan is rooted in several intertwined structural and cultural factors: patriarchal social norms that assign women to domestic roles and limit their mobility; weak enforcement of progressive legislation due to inadequate institutional capacity and social pressure on police and courts; economic dependence resulting from exclusion from formal employment and restricted property rights; educational and digital divides that impede women’s ability to compete in the modern economy; and intersectional disadvantages linked to class, geography, ethnicity, sect and disability, which heighten the marginalization of rural and minority women. Overcoming these challenges demands more than periodic legal reform. It requires a comprehensive strategy combining legal, institutional, educational and cultural interventions. Strategies for transformation must include the following: First, Pakistan must consolidate its legal framework by aligning provincial laws with constitutional principles and CEDAW commitments. Domestic violence legislation should be enacted uniformly across all provinces and loopholes that enable mediation or compromise in rape and honour crimes must be closed. Second, enforcement institutions need targeted investment. Establishing gender desks at police stations, recruiting more women officers and institutionalizing training on survivor-centred investigations can significantly improve justice outcomes. Likewise, judicial and prosecutorial training on gender jurisprudence and evidentiary standards in sexual offence cases would strengthen prosecutions and restore trust in the system. Third, promoting economic empowerment is essential to sustainable equality. This means expanding access to quality education, vocational training and digital literacy tailored to local market needs. Workplace safety, childcare facilities and affordable transport must be treated as core components of labour policy. Regulatory incentives—such as tax breaks for women-led enterprises or procurement preferences for firms with inclusive hiring practices—can encourage private sector participation. Fourth, Women in agriculture and home-based industries also deserve formal recognition as workers. Simplified registration and linkages to social security schemes would enhance their bargaining power. Moreover, reforms to credit and property regimes can help women transition from unpaid labour to entrepreneurship and asset ownership. Fifth, ensuring every girl completes secondary education must be a national priority. This requires targeted interventions, conditional cash transfers, stipends, school feeding programs and community mobilization to keep girls enrolled. Evidence from similar initiatives in South Asia shows that girls who complete schooling marry later, have fewer children and contribute more robustly to the economy. Sixth, in health, the task is to build on successful programmes like the LHW initiative while integrating mental health, GBV response and reproductive care into the primary healthcare system. Expanding digital health and telemedicine can reach women in remote communities, further narrowing access gaps. Bridging the digital gender divide is equally vital. Affordable devices, community internet centers and digital-skills training can empower women to participate in e-commerce, remote education and civic engagement. Digital inclusion is no longer a luxury; it is a prerequisite for modern citizenship. However, even the best-designed policies will falter if social norms remain unchanged. Cultural transformation requires sustained engagement through education, media and religious discourse. Collaborating with religious scholars, local leaders and educators to reinterpret Islamic principles around dignity, justice and equality can reinforce social acceptance of women’s rights. School curricula and media should portray women as leaders and innovators, challenging outdated stereotypes of dependence. Equally important is the role of men and boys. Gender equality cannot thrive as a project of women alone. Programmes that address masculinity, care-giving and nonviolent conflict resolution can shift attitudes within households and communities. Involving fathers in girls’ education and men in workplace equality initiatives helps recast women’s empowerment as a shared societal goal. For reforms to consolidate, institutions that safeguard women’s rights must be empowered. The NCSW and Provincial Commissions should have independent mandates, investigative powers and stable funding. Gender units within ministries, local governments and law enforcement agencies should embed gender perspectives into planning, budgets and service delivery. Finally, collaboration is essential. The state, civil society, academia and international partners must work together to generate reliable data, pilot new approaches and scale successful models. Protecting women’s rights defenders and ensuring structured consultation with women’s groups will anchor policies in lived realities rather than abstract ideals.—Concluded —The writer is former Ambassador, based in Islamabad. (naghmanahashmi40@gmail.com)