199/2k18/LLB University of Sindh

Assignment Labour Law

Presented to Sir Ali Kolachi
Q1: Discuss Child Labour in light of different laws in Pakistan?

Before discussing it in light of laws, we must know what child labour is known for,
WHAT DOES CHILD LABOUR MEAN? According to ILO and UNICEF, all work done
by children can’t be classified as child labour. So, there is a need to differentiate
between child labour and child work. If work is not affecting the health and
personal development as well as the schooling of children, then this type of work
can not be taken negatively and does not fall in the category of child labour, e.g.
assisting in family business or working during school holidays or after school
hours. These activities are not “child labour”, rather these can be termed as ‘child
work’. Child work is not only important for the personal development of children
but it also provides them with necessary skills to be useful and productive
members of a society.

According to ILO, Child Labour is defined as work that has the potential to deprive
children of their childhood, their dignity and is also harmful for their physical,
moral and mental development and it interferes with their education (either by
not allowing them to attend school, leaving school prematurely i.e., without
compulsory education or forcing them to combine school attendance with heavy
work.)

It is a term defining the work that deprives children of their childhood, their
potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental
development.

It is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children

mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children.

interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend
school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt
to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

Hazardous child labour or hazardous work is the work which, by its nature or the
circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or
morals of children.
work which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse;

work underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces;

work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools, or which involves the
manual handling or transport of heavy loads;

work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to

hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or
vibrations damaging to their health;

work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or during
the night or work where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the
employer.

Child Labour and Pakistan

Both the Constitution and Labour laws prohibit the employment of children
before the age of 14 years.

the constitutional provisions pertaining to child labour.

Constitutional Provisions

• Article 3: the state shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and
the gradual fulfillment of fundamental principle, from each according to his ability
and to each according to his work.

• Article 11(3): No child below the age of 14 years shall be engaged in any factory
or mine or any other hazardous employment.

• Article 25(A): The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as determined by law.

• Article 37(e): The state shall make provision for securing just and humane
conditions of work, ensuring that women and children are not employed in
vacations unsuited to their age or sex, and for maternity benefits for women in
employment.
The Constitution of Pakistan contains provisions for the economic and social well-
being of the people and for the promotion of social justice. Fundamental rights
with regard to the security of life or liberty, prohibition of slavery and forced
labour, and the right to form associations or unions, among others, are enshrined
in the Constitution. Article 11 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan
guarantees that “no child below the age of fourteen years shall be engaged in any
factory or mine or any other hazardous employment. Realizing the crucial role of
education in eradication of child labour, Article 25-A was added to the
Constitution under the 18th Constitutional Amendment 2010, requiring the state
to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to
sixteen years. Education is the one of the most effective means of controlling and
combating child labour. Similarly, Article 37(e) of the Constitution requires the
State to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work,
ensuring that children and women are not employed in vocations unsuited to
their age or sex.

The minimum age for admission to work is set under the Mines Act 1923 (15
years), Factories Act 1934 as well as its provincial variants enacted after
devolution (14 years), Shops & Establishments Ordinance 1969 and its provincial
variants enacted in Sindh and Khyber Pakthunkhwa (14 years) and Road Transport
Workers Ordinance 1961 (18 years). The minimum age for starting work is 14
years under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prohibition of Employment of Children Act,
2015 and Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2017. The minimum
age for admission to work is raised to 15 years under Punjab Restriction on
Employment of Children Ordinance 2016. The minimum age for admission to
work is also set as 14 years in draft legislation by Balochistan. The minimum age
for admission to work is raised to 15 years in draft legislation of Islamabad Capital
Territory (a private member bill submitted in the Senate of Pakistan, the upper
house of the Parliament).

The minimum age for light work, in line with provision of Convention 138, is
prescribed under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prohibition of Employment of Children
Act, 2015 which states as follows: Section 3. Prohibition of employment. (1) No
child shall be employed or permitted to work in any establishment:
Provided that a child not below the age of 12 years may be engaged in the light
work, alongside his family member, for a maximum of two hours per day mainly
for the purpose of acquiring skills, in a private undertaking, or in any school
established, assisted or recognized by Government for such purpose.

The provisions on light work are also found in legislation of Sindh province
prohibiting employment of children.

The minimum age for hazardous work is set as 14 years under the Employment of
Children Act 1991 (applicable currently in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT),
Balochistan and Sindh). After devolution, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh
Province have enacted necessary legislation raising the minimum age for
hazardous work to 18 years, in line with the provisions of Convention 138. The
minimum age for hazardous work is raised to 18 years in the draft legislation for
Islamabad Capital Territory and Balochistan. There are also Hazardous
Occupations Rules, framed under the Factories Act which prohibit employment of
children in certain hazardous occupations (lead, rubber, sand blasting, chromium,
etc.). The worst forms of child labour, as described under Convention 182, are
regulated and prohibited under various Acts including Pakistan Penal Code 1860
and Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance 2002. The Punjab
Restriction on Employment of Children Act 2016 and Sindh Prohibition of
Employment of Children Act 2017 also prohibit worst forms of child labour, as
specified under Convention 182, and prescribes stringent penalties.

legislation deal exclusively with the subject of child labour.

1. The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act 1933 (applicable in all provinces)

2. The Employment of Children Act 1991 (applicable in Balochistan and ICT)

3. The Employment of Children Rules 1995 (applicable in Balochistan and ICT)

4. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2015

5. Punjab Prohibition of Child Labour at Brick Kilns Act 2016

6. Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act 2016

7. Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2017

Factories Legislation

1. The Factories Act, 1934

2. The Factories Act, 1934 (adapted by the province of Punjab through
Amendment Act of 2012)
3. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Factories Act, 2013
4. The Sindh Factories Act, 2015
5. Shops and Establishments Legislation
6. The Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1969
7. The Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1969 (adapted by the province of
Punjab through Amendment Act of 2014)
8. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shops and Establishments Act, 2015
9. The Sindh Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 2015
10.There is also sector specific legislation which deals with the employment of
children and regulate the working conditions for employed child workers.
11.Sector Specific Legislation
12.Mines Act, 1923
13.The Road Transport Workers Ordinance, 1961
14.Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 2001
15.Punjab Prohibition of Child Labour at Brick Kilns Act 2016

What are the duties and fuctions of an inspector in factories act ?

Factory Inspector- Powers- S.9

In the local limits assigned to him, an Inspector reserves the authority to:

Enter a factory with an assistant who is employed by the government or

local/public officers or a professional.

Examine the plant, machines, articles or substances on the premises.

Look into accidents or any life-threatening eventualities that have or could give
rise to injuries on the body and or lead to disabilities. He reserves the right to
question any individual considered helpful in reaching to the bottom of the
findings.

Receive any register or document that he prescribes that is connected to the

factory.

Take hold of copies of all registers, records and any other document and portion
that he deems to be a necessity in any offense stated in the Act that has been
committed.

Give the order that any occupiers of the factory premises should refrain from
trespassing stated areas be it generally or particularly, for as long as it is required
for the reasons of examination stated in clause (ii).

Acquire samples, measurements, recordings, photos and any equipment or

instrument he deems necessary for the execution of an examination as stated in
clause (ii).

Direct any article or substance in any place that seems to be the cause or has the
possibility of causing harm to the safety or health of workers to be dismantled or
take it through processes of testing with the permission to destroy it only if it is
mandatory in accordance to this Act. He may also take the article or substance
into custody for the required duration of time for the completion of the
examination.

Make use of any other authority as may be given.

Any other rules that may be formed by the State Government hold the mentioned
authorities of an Inspector subject to them.

Additional authorities of an Inspector

An Inspector also reserves the authority to:

Inquire for the medical examination of a suspected minor working in a factory (S.
75).
Collect samples of substances that are used and or are set to be used in a factory
with the objective of determining whether the substance is harmful to the health
of the factory workers.

Consequences of obstructing an Inspector S.95

Individuals who intentionally obstruct an Inspector in the execution of any

authority given to him by the Act, or fails to give up any registers or documents as
demanded by the inspector is liable to a punishment of up to 6 months
imprisonment or a fine of up to 10,000 rupees or both.

Q3: Suggest some. Amendment for Factories Act 1948.

Ans. Suggesting Amendments for Factories Act 1948

i. To encourage Male and Female employment, effective policies and programmes

should be devised and implemented.

ii. Appropriate laws and legislation should be enforced to improve the working
conditions and provision of support facilities for those man and women who are
already in labour market.

iii. Furthermore, discrimination in the labour market in terms of wages and

occupation segregation should be eliminated through the strict enforcement of
such laws.

iv. It has been observed that in the existing database the concepts underlying the

definitions of employment or unemployment are not entirely neutral. Rather they

are gender-biased, as they do not consider women’s work inside the household
and domestic work is not considered inside the labour force. In order to capture
fully the role performed by women it is necessary to refine the present
definitions. It is also recommended that different approaches to data collection
and the access to employment opportunities to special groups, region and socio-
economic strata should also used.
v. To increase female labour participation it is necessary that a long-term strategy
be

developed to encourage the desired changes in the society and attitudes through
mass media.

vi. The Ministry of Women’s Development should play its role in devising and

implementing various comprehensive programmes for enhancing women’s

employment.

vii. For the amending and enhancing laws for men and women who are already in
the job market the provision of support facilities like, childcare centres, working
women’s hostels should be provided.

viii. The laws and legislations should be enforced strictly to improve the working

conditions of women, but also to provide them with the benefits to which they
are

entitled such as maternity and sick leave etc.

ix. There is also a need to create awareness among women of their rights and the
legislation protecting them. For this purpose, effective trade unions for women
should be formed.

x. Women should be provided with facilities for self-employment in the short

term, and increased opportunities in the formal sectors in the long term.
Moreover, as the informal sector in Pakistan is providing employment to two
thirds of the total urban labour force including 70 percent of the total female
workers.

xi. Social protection should be provided to women working in the informal sector
by increasing their wages, improving their working conditions and reducing

exploitation by, and dependence on, middlemen.

xii. Rural women which form the majority of total female labour force in the
country

must be provided appropriate agriculture technology and agriculture extension

training programmes.

xiii. However, the agricultural and rural development programmes should focus
on

lessening the workload of already-overworked men and women before

introducing any improved agricultural technologies which require additional time
and energy to learn, and ultimately use.

Q4: what are factores affecting women in Labor work.

Ans. Female participation is more important particularly for the economies where
female from where the women constitute more than half of population of
Pakistan but their labor market participation is exceedingly low.

In a country like Pakistan labour force in considered the keysource which

contributes significantly to its socioeconomic development.

Higher participation of males and females increases a countries potential for rapid
growth.

The decision of females to participate in labor market is complex as it depends on

personal and family factors visa -vis labor market conditions.

According to World Bank, Pakistan is at the lowest level on female labor

participation as compared to other emerging countries.

There are several factors that induce women to participate in labor market. Such
factors are very complex and vary at individual and aggregate level. Among such
factors accessability of jobs, women education and personal skills are factors
which impact at individual level while there are factors which impact on
socioeconomical on aggregate level.
Factors including marital status, household income, area of residence, number of
children, household head education level appeared to be negatively related with
females' labor force participation. 

The women having poor background are forced to be a part of labor market to
fulfill the economical requirements of their families. So, the financial pressure is
considered an economic factor that pushes the women to participate in the
labour market. Mostly the women who participate in labour market belong to
poor families.

According to Neoclassical economics, Education is tha main factor that forces

women to enter in the Labor Market. If education level of women is higher, they
will not only get involved in non-market activities but their participation in
modern sector activities will be higher. Armoured with higher education, the
productivity of a women increases which in turn might lessens the economic
burden of their families.

Other factors that increase output level are experience and on-job training

Demographic factors like, age and family size play very vital role in the social and
economic development of a country. It is very important to take the demographic

statistics in order to draft the plans, framework of economic policies and to judge
the growth and development of any country. Large number of family members
and dependency burden force the women to enter into labor market.

Demand factors like labor market conditions, discrimination in employment, wage

rate etc.

Supply side factors like children's education, father's income, employment status,
mother's income etc. Supply side factors have been considered as females labor
force participation decision mainly depends on household factors (why? explain).
To examine the impact of determinants of females’ labor force participation, the
study included in the study are: age, age square, marital status, level of education
of females, household income, number of children, household head employment
status and education of household head, area of residence and province.
Women contribution in labor market has gained much importance in the
Developing world due to its significant impact on country’s socio economic
development.

Economic and demographic factors influencing labor force decision of women

which are Explored can be grouped into two categories; family factors and
personal factors.

A. Family Factors

Economic factors play an important role in females’ labor force participation

Decisions. Higher family income increases leisure time of women at home and in
the

market; so they reduce hours of work in labor market. Most of the empirical
studies conducted in Pakistan and other developing countries have found family
income as an important factor which has inverse relationship with females’ labor
force participation.

Contribution of a married female’s earnings in her family varies inversely with the
net worth of family’s assets.

the impact of family assets on labor participation decision of females in case of

Pakistan, using Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) for the
year 2006-07. The study included land ownership ( either agricultural or non-
agricultural land) as a proxy for current assets. The study concluded that females’
current assets decreased the likelihood of their participation in labor market. The
study also found the influence of nature of assets on working decisions of married
females in labor market. Due to the use of home appliances, household work took
less time allowing females to allocate time to market work.

Other studies also found the same negative relationship between assets
ownership and females labor force participation by examining field survey data of
different districts of Punjab Females’ decision about labor market participation is
also dependent on employment status of family head or husband. There are more
chances that a female will do job if her husband has temporary job or no job, the
impact of spouse participation in economic activities on labor participation
decision of females using field survey data of district of Punjab, Pakistan.

Results found that a female was less likely to work in labor market if her husband
participated in economic activities.

Many studies have found family size an important significant factor to affect
females’ employment decisions. Studies in Pakistan found contradictory results
regarding the impact of this factor on females’ labor force participation. Some
studies found that family size was negatively related with women employment
decision. Due to large family size, females have more households’ responsibilities
and give more time to family which in result will decrease their chances to
participate in labor market. Other studies found that large family size increases
the probability that females will work in paid activities. Family expenditures
increased if there were more members in the family which in run would induce
females to work for earnings to contribute in family’s financial resources.
Structure of family also played an important role in labor market decisions of
females. It is analyzed that females living in joint system shared household
responsibilities with other family members and could decide for work if they got
any opportunity.

Number of workers other than husband also changes females’ decision about
employment. More workers in a family reduces family financial burden which in
turn decreases chances of females participation in labor market. It was found that
presence of more workers in a family motivated females to participate in labor
market.

Educated females belonging to rural areas are less likely to participate in formal
jobs, like teaching, health, and others because females in these areas have lack of
access to quality education and employment opportunities in their areas. Some
studies also found that females in rural areas have more participation in labor
market as compared to females in urban areas Females’ employment decision is
also influenced by education of husband or household head. Higher level of
husband’s education is associated with higher family earnings which in turn
reduces the probability of females’ participation in paid work. Studies have also
found that women with educated husbands have more probability to work in
labor market as compared to the women with uneducated husbands.The reason
might be that educated husbands are unbiased towards negative social and
cultural norms and give permission to females for labor work.

B. Personal Factors

Females’ age positively affects their labor force participation decision as disclosed
in many empirical studies in case of Pakistan. Young females cannot get good Job
due to lack of education and training. As their age increases, they improve
qualification and find better employment opportunities, which in turn increase
their chances to get paid work.

Some studies have also included square of age variable in their model and found
inverted U-shape relationship between age and females labor force participation.
Females are more likely to participate in labor market when their age increases
but after certain limit their chances of participation for paid work starts
decreasing. After certain age limit, their physical health condition does not allow
them to do more work. Mothers at higher age have less probability to go for paid
work as family’s financial burden is also shared by their children. Some studies
found negative relationship between age and labor market participation in case of
females. They are of the view that young females are more energetic and have
less household responsibilities which increases their chances to participate in
labor market.

Females’ education is found as an important determinant of females’ labor force

participation in different empirical studies.

Females’ participation in the labor market varies directly with their level of
education. Educated females have more probability to work in market as
compared to uneducated or less educated females. Educated females find better
employment opportunities and good salary jobs which in turn increases their
chances to participate in market work.
Marital status is also an important factor in females’ employment decision. A mix
of positive and negative effects of marital status on females’ labor force
participation decision is found in different studies. After marriages, females have
more responsibilities and family constraints, so there is less probability that
females could participate in labor market. The studies which find positive affect of
marital status on females’ employment decision after marriage justify it by
maintaining that females’ feel the need to share family financial burden.

Presence of young children is one of the most important factors which

significantly affects females’ decision of labor market participation. Take care of
their children particularly children in the age of 5, is the prime responsibility of
females and they never find appropriate and reasonable alternatives. Females
also face family pressure regarding their role as a mother and it is difficult for
them to continue their job after giving birth to children.

Studies were found showing contradictory outcomes regarding the impact of

different factors on female labor force participation decision. The study was an
effort to examine all possible determinants of females’ labor force participation
by utilizing Labor Force.

Female Workers in Informal sector

Informal sector means that part of economy which falls outside the formal,
regulated sector.

The informal sector can be classified into seven aspects; ease of entry, reliance on
indigenous resources, family ownership of enterprise, and small scale of
operation, labour intensive and competitive market However, the dichotomy of
formal and informal sector cannot be sharp and definite. In practice, informal
sector is comprised those workers working in enterprises less than ten and those
workers who are employed as contract labour, or short-term employees in the
larger enterprises i-e those who are not formally registered as employees, like
unregistered family and small establishments employing less than ten workers.

Majority of people including women working in the informal sector, relative to

the formal sector are poor. The number of women and their contribution to the
informal sector in official statistics are likely to be underestimated because they
are engaged in home-based work and street vending activities, which are the
most difficult to be documented. Very little information is available on the socio-
economic aspect and the working conditions and opportunities in the informal
sector. Moreover, no macro level data is available on female home-based workers
and the official statistics are erroneous and misleading.

There are discrepancies in labour statistics particularly in data on informal sector,

which are evident from various surveys and Census. However, Pakistan Labour
Force Surveys published by Federal Bureau of Statistics every year provide some
relevant information and data regarding the labour force participation by gender
in informal economy of the countrywomen’s lack of access to formal jobs in
formal sector of the country. Objectively speaking, in urban areas, informal sector
accommodate more than 70 percent of labour and about two million women.
Still, women’s choice of activities in this sector is restricted by the patriarchal
norms of female seclusion Women workers in the informal sector are by and large
confined to being either home-based workers (stitching clothes, weaving baskets,
embroidery, food products for sale by male members or middlemen), or engaged
in family owned or trade micro enterprises (e.g. leather workers, laundresses and
vendors, or domestic servant in other household or outside home workers
employed as brick makers, construction workers, or being self-employed as
vendors selling bangles etc.).

This informal sector with middleman, who provides women work and pays her for
it, isolate her in household and consequently and meagre wage paid on the basis
of the quality of work regardless of time and labour spent on it. In informal sector,
women workers are not only concentrated into low-paying jobs but their pay is
also lower than that of men working in equal categories. Because informal sector
mainly rests on manual work, therefore, women face pay discrimination. In this
sector, average earning of men and women of actual qualifications and equal job
widely differs. Even after adjustment for differences in hours of work, age and
schooling, the earning of women does not equal those of men.
According to a study, in Pakistan urban informal sector, women’s wage were less
than half of those of men, and they also had limited access to economic and social
resources like credit and human development facilities,

Female Workers in Rural Sector

According to many evidences and micro studies, rural women in Pakistan spend
16 to 18 hours daily on domestic chores and livestock related activities. However,
these activities are unrecognised in monetary terms. The one-third of rural
employed women earns meagre income as piece rate workers. Most of the
women in rural areas are working on countryside or on their own dwellings.
Having a long working day, women’s contribution towards household income and
to the national economy is considered as significant.

Basically, rural women form 29.8 percent of total labour force in rural areas
(Economic Survey: 2008-2009). The largest share of the female labour force in
rural areas consists of women who are economically active within the household
only. The available data indicated a gradual decline in the female labour
participation rates after the adaptation of mechanisation and commercialisation
of agriculture at optimal level. A decline has been observed in female labour
participation rates in two Agricultural Census (1980-1990), and two labour Force
Surveys (1987- 1988) and (1997-1998) with an interval of decade.

Lower rates of female participation in waged employment in rural areas not only
have statistical but also have cultural biases, coupled with the changes introduced
to the mode of production in rural economy which further aggregated already
adverse conditions of rural women with the commercialisation of agriculture. In
fact, the commercialisation of agriculture has widened the gap between male and
female. Many evidences reveal that male-female earning differentials in rural
areas are very low in rural areas. Rural women used to earn quite a bit of income
from poultry keeping, sale of dairy industries like ghee, milk and butter. With the
growth of modern poultry and dairy industries sale of village poultry or eggs has
declined sharply and now men replaces women to sell milk and ghee to dairy
processors. Village poultry and ghee sale, a women’s preserve has declined.
Therefore, their personal income has declined as well.
Moreover, in rural areas, the contribution of women in the family income is also
extremely low, i.e., rural women contributed only 5.8 % to household income.
This appears to be inversely proportional to the participation rates of women in
the labour force which are much higher for rural women (35.9%) than for urban
women (10.7%). This is largely due to the occupational structure and employment
status of rural women.

An overwhelming majority of rural women (80%) work in the agriculture sector.

However, a major portion of these rural women (72%) are not paid for their work
and merely termed as unpaid family workers. These rural unpaid family labourers
are involved in a variety of agricultural activities such as cutting, binding sheaves,
thrashing, cotton picking, hoeing, sowing seeds, transplanting seedlings, cleaning
and storing grain, caring and feeding animals, ginning and spinning etc. It is in
addition to their routine domestic task. But unfortunately their work is neither
counted in monetary terms nor are their contributions to economic production
recognised and reflected in any statistics.

Furthermore, an increase in population, the unemployment and under-

employment rates for the rural female are enormously high putting depressed
impact on women’s economic strength. Rural women’s economic activities and
contributions to the household as well as in the national economy are mostly
invisible. The invisibility of their efforts, which are not translated into monetary
resources, is considered as the majorreason for the low rates of rural women’s
labour participation. Women’s invisibility in economic activities, reported low
rates of participation in labour force and powerlessness in economic decision
making process nearly at all levels, from household to society are also due to the
socio-cultural constraints based on patriarchal attitudes. Consequently, this
situation has created gender gaps and weaker bargaining power of rural women
within and outside the household.

Wage Discrepancies in Job Market

Beside limited access to job market women also suffer from enormous wage
discrepancies in job market in Pakistan. women generally earned almost one third
less than their male counterparts.

Socio-economic constraints of female labour participation

Women in Pakistan face a number of problems and constraints while they seek
for employment, which can be broadly seen as the socio-cultural constraints and
problems relating to the workplace. The socio-cultural problems hinder the access
of women to employment since they stem from the traditional patriarchal norms
of the society which support the sex- stereo typing and gender bias. These
constraints also cause problems for working women in both the formal and
informal sectors. A majority of women can be found working in the informal
sector is due to the fact that such constraints have a great weightage against
employment of women in the formal sector.

Pakistani society can be characterised as one which is underpinned by the

traditional

patriarchal setting, which has always dominated women and has created a spell of
uncertainties on them by constraining their participation in the process of
development and empowerment. In most of the cases women are only permitted
to acquire education and training if it conforms to the socially accepted roles of
women and train them as housewives or other household related activities.
Because man is considered as breadwinner thus, female employment is accorded
less social acceptance as it lower the

status of the family, unless women are engaged in relatively well paid jobs receive
higher professional qualifications like in certain areas of education and health
fields.

But this concept cannot be applied universally in Pakistan as there are regional,
social and class differences. For example, in relatively wealthier or middle class
communities of the province of Baluchistan and Khyber Pukhtoon Khawah, the
mobility of women is less than in the province of Sindh and Punjab. Punjab shows
more tolerance for the working women in rural, as well as in urban areas. The
presence of a large number of cities and industrial developments has contributed
to the change in attitudes towards working women.

Lower rate of female participation in waged employment is also a consequence of

lack of education and training available to majority of women in Pakistan.
According to many studies education has firm positive relation with women’s
gainful employment in Pakistan and primary education for girls and enrolment
rates are found to reduce gender inequality in education and job.

Economic literature also frequently supports the positive impact of education on

economic performance, with higher returns to primary education then to
secondary and/or tertiary education. Education results in the highest economic
benefits where there are propoor growth policies and effective demand for
educated manpower are in progress.

Better education contributes to higher life-time earnings and more healthy

national economic growth. However, Pakistan features considerably poorly in
terms of its literacy and education achievements, and the schooling of females
has tended to lag far behind that of males.

Pakistani women remain disadvantaged and discriminated in various programmes

initiated in the field of education and training, as they face unequal power
relationship within the state structures and institutions. The State believes that by
directing development resources to the male head of the family, they will be
optimally allocated between all members of the household including women. But
there are evidences that women have disproportionately benefited from such
programmes and policies extended by the State for female education.

Many programmes or projects designed for promoting female education, health

or employment suffered from a serious setback as a result of insufficient
allocation of funds, bureaucratic top down nature or lack of any serious political
commitment. Ultimately it has drastic consequences for Pakistani women who
remained uneducated, subordinate and dependent on men within the household
and society

Conclusion
Participation in labour market is an efficient strategy for strengthening women’s
empowerment and also bargaining power within and outside the household. At
present, the majority of working women are the destitute women and it is their
economic condition which pushes them in the labour market. Further, female
employment is also constrained either due to the non-availability of self-
employment opportunities or the existence of culture inhibitions in seeking lower
status, and lowwaged employment outside the household. It is arguedthat
through employment and other income-generating activities women’s economic
position improves and this leads to a better treatment they receive from their
household. Moreover the central message of many Development agencies that
are facilitating economic empowerment of women is also that the credit,
employment and other income generating means as well as social development
are prerequisite for empowerment of women. Nonetheless, women are
economically invisible. By gaining economic empowerment, they will get both
visibility and a voice in decision-making process within the household, workplace
and in society. By giving equal economic opportunities, they not only would
contribute to the earnings of household but also become major contributors or
equal to men to nation economy. As women gain economic strength, the
attitudes of their family members and society, as a whole towards them would
change.

Therefore, this structural transformation would lead to economic equality which

forces men to involve women in decision-making processes and provide a
hierarchy on which both women and men have a place on same ladder. This is the
true empowerment of women in Pakistan.