Women Empowerment And Socio-Economic Development – OpEd
The development of a country’s economy and society relies heavily on the protection of women’s rights. The status of women in Pakistani society has improved significantly over the previous several years, which is a wonderful development. Women are more likely to be employed, to vote, and to have their opinions heard than their male counterparts. Female role models from Pakistan continue to inspire people throughout the globe despite the worst of circumstances. This is a reality that has to be disseminated. For the next generation of Pakistani greats, Pakistani women are establishing bridges and highways into the world of worldwide opportunity.
There are a many of them, for instance: Pakistani pop artist Arooj Aftab is one of them. On April 3, 2022, she got her first Grammy nomination for Best Global Performance. Benazir Bhutto became Pakistan’s first female prime minister when she took office in 1999. In 2014, Pakistan had a higher percentage of female members than either the United States or the United Kingdom, with 20.7%. Pakistan’s first all-female peacekeeping force was established in January 2020 by Pakistani women. Among the Hazara Air Force’s first female aviators are Saira Batool and Lower Dir’s Kainat Junaid, both of whom are from the KPK. The Tamgha e-Basalat medal was given to Marium Mukhtiar. She was the first woman to get martyred while performing her profession when her jet crashed in November 2015.
Moreover, Bilquis Edhi was chosen “Person of the Decade” by Impact Hallmarks in January 2022. She was a philanthropist and a humanitarian. Many additional accolades from many nations have also been bestowed to her, including the Hilal-e-Imtiaz award, the Lenin Peace Prize and the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice (2015). The first Pakistani woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, Samuela Baig did it at the age of 21. Nimrah Salim was the country’s first female astronaut. Also, she was the first Pakistani woman to do skydive from Mount Everest.
Sarah Qureshi, furthermore, a Pakistani aerospace engineer, is working on a contrail-free aviation engine that will revolutionise the industry. Pollution from air travel is a major problem; this new power plant might help mitigate that pollution and make air travel a more ecologically friendly option. After being named Pakistan’s first Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations, Muniba Mazari made sure that all women had equal access to the same opportunities as their male counterparts. First female Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari was awarded the Jane Drew architectural prize in 2020 for her work as a disaster relief construction contractor. As a recent gold medalist for Pakistan, Najma Parveen is a household name in the country’s athletic community.
It is a complete practical programme that attempts to get adolescents engaged and think about ways to eliminate the gender gap in education and work, as well as making workplaces more hospitable for women throughout the nation. To ensure that women have a voice in making choices and altering gender stereotypes, it creates governance structures.
Several new laws have been enacted to ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights. It includes the Anti-Rape Act (Investigation and Trial) Act and the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2020 etc. Using women’s rights to convince nations to do what they want is a tactic used by the West. Its purpose is to create an atmosphere that encourages women to participate in the economy more actively. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2018-23) includes it. The country’s development, competitiveness, and overall economy are greatly influenced by ensuring that women (nearly half of the population) are used correctly.
Gender equality and women’s rights are important issues in Pakistan, and the country has a number of international obligations to this purpose. Human rights declarations and platforms such as the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the Sustainable Development Goals are just a few examples. All these attempts have failed to improve Pakistan’s gender equality rating and indicate that people are not that different from one another. A strong commitment to women’s rights is a top priority for Pakistan’s government. It is one of the government’s primary goals to ensure that women have equal access to all facets of society. Government aims also include empowering women.
*The author holds an M.Phil from National Defence University and is a freelance writer and can be reached at [email protected].