Gender Inequality.

 Facts & Information.

 THE recently passed bill on maternity and paternity leave enables mothers to take up
to six months on the first birth, and leaves of four and three months for the second
and third children. This law also allows for the father to take three one-month leaves
for the duration of the service during times of childbirth. This is the first-time
paternal leave has been given legal protection and it holds pivotal importance for
two significant reasons.
 Firstly, it aims to ensure the continued presence of women in the workforce, and,
secondly, it promotes the idea that childcare is a shared responsibility.
 Research has shown that countries with robust family leave policies experience
higher female labour force participation rates, improved gender equality, and
enhanced productivity.
 The PPP deserves credit for its efforts in promoting pro-women legislation and its
ongoing commitment to progressive policies.
 Maternity leave is a universal human and labour right.
 In South Asia, women perform nine times more unpaid care work than men on
average.
 According to the United Nations Development Programme, women in Pakistan
spend an average of 4.4 hours per day on unpaid care work, including activities such
as cooking, cleaning, childcare, and caring for the elderly.
 Imagine spending 4.4 hours above your typical nine-to-five day!
 caring for children is traditionally seen as solely a woman’s role.
 The UN’s 2023 Gender Social Norms Index makes for depressing reading. According
to the report, there has been no improvement since a decade in biases against
women, with almost nine out of 10 men and women across the world still embracing
such misogynistic notions.
 50pc of people globally, men make better political leaders than women, and over
40pc consider men to be better business executives than women. Shockingly, 25pc
of people believe it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife, behaviour that further
reinforces women’s low status and leads to generational trauma.
 As per the UN report, the share of women as heads of state or government has, on
average, hovered around 10pc since 1995.
 Consider that even in the 59 countries where women have more years of education
under their belt than men, the average gender income gap is a whopping 39pc in
favour of men.
 According to the Global Gender Gap Index of 2022 published by the World Economic
Forum, Pakistan ranks 145 out of the 146 countries — the second worst position
globally.
 In 2020, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan released a statement warning of
the grave threats posed to academic freedom. They expressed fears of “recurring
attacks on academic freedom of expression through use of the country’s
controversial blasphemy or sedition laws that could carry a death sentence”.

Way Forward.
  Paternity leave, for instance, promotes the idea that childcare is a shared
responsibility.
 or example, making it compulsory for men to register the birth of their child.
 legislators must work on building laws that prevent discrimination against women
who are pregnant
 employers are not individually liable for the direct costs of maternity leave, and
instead, these cash benefits should be provided through compulsory social
insurance, public funds, or non-contributory social assistance for women.
 Addressing the risk of employer discrimination against female employees is critical,
as there are costs associated with granting paid maternity leave. Additionally,
legislators should consider extending these benefits to contractual and informal
workers.
 Employers need to facilitate women when they re-enter the workforce. Women
should also be given breaks for breastfeeding and should be given a fair period to
transition back to work.
 Employers should also foster a family-friendly work environment by implementing
flexible work arrangements, reduced working hours, part-time options with pro-rata
benefits and entitlements, and leave for caring for children and other family
members.
 The voices of women’s groups and care workers are important and must be included
in policymaking and investment planning processes to ensure that the concerns of
caregivers are heard. With the right policies and investments in place, we can
significantly reduce overall care responsibilities and distribute them more equitably
across society.

Gender equality and digital economy

 including e-commerce, social media, fintech and digital marketing. The digital
economy has the potential to provide women with new opportunities for
employment, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
 key advantages of the digital economy is that it offers women more flexible work
arrangements, including remote work and freelance opportunities that can help
them balance their work and personal lives.
 Additionally, the digital economy provides women with access to markets and
customers beyond their immediate geographic area, which can help level the playing
field and increase their earning potential.
 digital technologies can provide women with access to education and training,
regardless of their location. Online learning platforms can help women acquire new
skills and knowledge, which can help them advance in their careers or start their
own businesses. They can also provide women with access to information, which can
help them make informed decisions about their health, education, and careers.
 Women are underrepresented in tech-related fields and occupations, and they often
face discrimination and harassment online, which can limit their participation in
digital spaces and discourage them from pursuing careers in the digital economy.
  Women in low- and middle-income countries are less likely to have access to digital
technologies and internet connectivity, which can limit their access to education,
healthcare and job opportunities.
 Women are underrepresented in STEM fields, where highest-paying jobs in the
digital economy are found. This is partly due to social and cultural norms that
discourage girls and women from pursuing careers in STEM fields. Additionally,
women who do enter STEM fields often face discrimination and bias in the
workplace.
 To promote gender equality in the digital economy, it is essential to address the
digital gender gap and the barriers to digital inclusion for women.
 governments and organisations can increase access to digital technologies, such as
smartphones and computers, by providing subsidies or low-cost devices.
 Additionally, initiatives can be taken to provide internet access in rural and remote
areas.
 Digital skills training can help women develop the skills needed to effectively use
digital technologies. Organisations can provide training programmes, workshops,
and online resources to teach women the basics of computer literacy, coding, and
other digital skills.

IN a significant judgement, the Madras High Court has asserted that a wife
who has contributed towards acquiring family assets by performing
household chores, and taking care of the household and children is entitled
to an equal share in the properties.

 Justice Krishnan Ramasamy, in recognising the wife’s non-financial contributions

towards the household, observed: “In generality of marriages, the wife bears and rears
children and minds the home. She thereby frees her husband for his economic
activities.

 Since it is her performance of her function which enables the husband to perform his,
she is in justice, entitled to a share in its fruits. “It stressed that there was no
legislation currently in place that recognised such contribution and added that the
court had the discretion to recognise the same.

 While the progressive jurisprudence emerging from the courts’ ruling has paved the
way for women’s property and ownership rights in India, it is equally significant for
women in Pakistan, who are repeatedly denied their right to property and ownership,
notwithstanding the constitutional, statutory and judicial protections in place.

 Article 23 of the Constitution explicitly provides for the “right to acquire, hold, and
dispose of property” guaranteeing the right to property and equality of citizens as
fundamental rights.
 As part of its international obligations, Pakistan is bound by the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which pursuant to
Article 15, mandates all parties to secure women’s right to property.

 The state has not effectively enforced women's legal rights to property, especially
their right to inherit property. The case of Ghulam Qasim vs Razia Begum highlighted
 this issue, where the Supreme Court of Pakistan acknowledged the difficulties in
implementing women's inheritance rights, despite constitutional provisions that
protect property rights and call for special measures to protect women and children.
 Subsequently, the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2020, was
enacted to protect and secure the rights of ownership and possession of property
owned by women, providing them with a separate forum for redressal of their
grievances. The said act provides a mechanism to agitate complaints before an
ombudsperson provided no proceedings in a court of law are pending regarding that
property.

 The ‘pure-separate’ property regime is followed in Pakistan whereby the husband and
wife own property independently. In the absence of any legal framework that
recognises the concept of ‘joint matrimonial property’, any property or asset acquired
during the course of a marriage is treated as belonging to the individual in whose
name the title has been registered.

 The concept of ‘joint matrimonial property’ has been recognised by several Muslim
countries including Turkiye and Malaysia as well as other states such as Singapore.
For instance, Section 52 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act in Singapore
mandates the court to order any matrimonial assets to be divided between the parties
or any such asset to be sold and the proceeds of any such sale to be divided between
the parties.

 Countries such as Turkiye have implemented matrimonial regimes in compliance with

their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, and other international human
rights principles and existing obligations. The legal framework in Brunei explicitly
recognises the contribution of unpaid care work of women in supporting their spouses
to accumulate and/ or maintain matrimonial property and assets.

 At a time when Pakistan envisages equality for all, it needs to ensure that the right of
women to ‘joint matrimonial property’ is guaranteed in legislation and practice. This
is not only an international obligation, it is also a constitutional duty.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1772636/founding-mothers

Gender Gap in electoral process

The gender gap among registered voters in Pakistan is narrowing, with a current gap of 7.9%,
the lowest in 21 years. In recent statistics, the number of registered female voters increased at
a faster pace than male voters, with 504,755 women added in the last month compared to
408,643 men. Since May 2018, women's registered votes increased by over 25%, while men's
increased by about 16%. Despite this progress, around 3.5 million eligible women above 18
are still not registered as voters. In comparison, India's gender gap in registered voters is
much smaller, at 3.26%. Pakistan also lags behind in women's voter turnout, with 46.25% in
the 2018 election, while India recorded 67.19% in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Efforts to
minimize the gender gap include facilitating CNIC registration and enhancing civic
education, particularly in rural areas.
Killjoys in Swat
 Young girls in Pakistan were denied the opportunity to participate in a cricket match
in Swat's Charbagh town.
 The girls were turned away by angry men who deemed playing in an open ground as
'immodest.'
 The local tehsil chairman cited 'unstable security conditions' as the reason for denying
permission.
 After media outrage, the local government promised to organize a match 'in a week or
two.'
 This incident highlights the ongoing challenges faced by women's rights in Pakistan,
despite the global attention brought by activists like Malala.
 The obstruction of the girls' game reflects deep-seated prejudices and biases that
persist in the country.
 Pakistan has seen progress in promoting women's participation in various fields,
including sports.
 Denying these girls the chance to play denies them the benefits of sports, such as
teamwork, perseverance, and discipline.
 Addressing such incidents requires not only security measures but also tackling
regressive mindsets and extremism.
Way Forward.
Addressing the issue requires a multifaceted approach.
 Community awareness programmes,
 promotion of female role models,
 the start of a dialogue with religious leaders,
 the creation of safe spaces for women,
 introduction of sports into school curricula will all go a long way in changing deeply
ingrained beliefs.
 It is also important to engage men and boys to stand up for the rights of their sisters,
daughters and friends.
 Our country’s future lies in the empowerment of its youth, regardless of gender.