Though articulated in the UN charters and in the Constitutions of countries trading on the path of democracy, — or otherwise — women’s rights violations are alive and kicking in one way or the other, in direct means or under the veneer of laws, muscular power or cage of norms. Subject to limitation and discrimination for millennia, the plight of women is unchanged even in the realm of the 21st century.
The ‘women sans rights’ tale is grim, brutal and prejudiced throughout history with men always in guard with harnessed paws of patriarchy in order to keep the subject subjugated. Dialling back the clock leads to the testimonials of a milieu reigned supreme by muscularity, subjecting the rest merely a creation of lesser importance. Other than the system in initial centuries of human existence — the band system — in the rest of social frameworks men had always held an upper hand over the feminine connotation by hook or by crook. Considering their being of lesser importance as mentioned above, the feminine creature is also thought to be incompetent, physically puny and psychologically unable to create, recreate, invent, innovate or has the ability to hold her nerve in a dilemma.
Although endeavoured hard to shun the gender inequality in early times by the likes of John Stuart Mill in 19th century and as recent as the #MeToo movement sparkled in 2017 to bring an end to gender inequality and incentivize empowerment of all regardless of the sex, so far it is a distant dream for the world to experience an environment filled with equality and harmony, not hegemony. The spike generated by John Stuart Mill’s book The Subjection of Women paved a narrow way to adjust the other gender other than ‘men’ in the European countries and the west, the rest, till now are in the cage of norms and traditions, facing social exclusion and suffering under the heel of discriminatory treatment in every walk of male-dominated life.
Though it’s a widespread mayhem ranging from the Caribbeans to sub-Saharan Africa, in specific terms, the Muslim world has done the damage more as compared to other countries. Take Afghanistan as an example. Although there was a marginal relaxation under the U.S triggered regime for women to get educated, have social participation and be enrolled in the workforce in equal terms and exercise their will, the Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15th of August, 2021 made a gridlock situation especially for women. The country poses an anti-egalitarian modus operandi towards their presence in the workforce, in university and other social places and that treatment dials us back to another Arab country having no mercy upon women: Saudi Arabia. Under the veneer of the Committee of Protection of Virtue, Prevention of Vice — or CPVPV in abbreviated version — maintained a monopoly not to educate the feminine gender. Though an indication was sparked by King Saud for educating girls too in the mid twentieth century, the resistance by Grand Mufti and Ulama catalysed to reverse the decision till the 21st century, i.e 2002.
According to the World Economic Forum 2023 Gender Gap Report, both the countries including ours top from the bottom with lowest scores. Afghanistan, as expected given the Taliban’s illegitimate reign tops from the bottom, i.e 146th, Pakistan, 142th with 0.575 and Saudi Arabia, a bit better at 131th with 0.637. The score 1 indicates, as the report key says, complete parity between men and women. The score and standings are counted upon four indicators: education attainment, economic participation, health survivability and political empowerment. Ironically, none of the countries scores 1-1. Which means no country on earth has complete parity.
Pakistan’s national level representation in political terms by female is narrow since other than Hina Rabbani Khar as foreign minister, Sherry Rehman as Climate and Shireen Mazari as Human Rights, no women came under the spotlight. The same is true with Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. The disproportionately disenfranchisement of women doesn’t put them in an inviolability box since the parity suggests the exercise of will, freedom of social choice, and an environment with no restrictions in workforce participation.
As long as the opposite gender is excluded from the crew members, the ride is always destined to be a bumpy one. It is prime-time to sow the seeds to turn it as strength what is Achilles’s heel before, make this March an eye-opening call to reality what is before fool’s paradise and catalyst the empowerment of women a primary purpose to bring the prosperity to arm’s length distance.
