Sexism is still around today.Women face sexism every single day as well as men.
There are
misconceptions that only women can be feminist and that feminism benefits women only.
However,feminism allows people to live freely without being tied down to ‘traditional
restrictions’.
According to the news article,Pakistan is at a crossroads in terms of its social, political and
economic fate. Because of a cultural relativistic mindset, it remains stuck in the quagmire of
demographic inequality, low female representation in the political and economic spheres and
an androcentric attitude.Basically,these so called ‘traditional restrictions' have driven the
country into gender inequality. Also these ‘traditional restrictions’ hold back women's rights
as prescribed by the Pakistani Constitution.
The underlying argument, with reference to the news article, in favour of feminism is that, “In
Pakistan, cultural relativistic values have spoiled not only the aims and objectives of
feminism but also Islamic rights for women”.People in Pakistan are more worried about the
cultural/traditional norms than any intellectual grooming and their living style and gender
roles are strongly built on their culture, with less influence from religion. Furthermore, women
in Pakistan are seen as “Pakistani society's poorer and disadvantaged segment in terms of
education, health, jobs and business opportunities, living standards, legislation, decision-
making, media and communication.” I am convinced that Pakistan's patriarchal culture
typically causes women to suffer at several different levels and facets of their lives.The
Society expects women to live under a 'shadow,' maintaining a male dominated household,
which ensures that the independent life is very difficult for women. Basically this leads to
female subordination in household affairs.
Another issue is that “according to liberal feminism, women languish because state
institutions and offices have a monopoly of men. Women’s participation in politics and offices
is discouraged by men because of their fear of losing the monopoly.”I strongly agree with
this statement since I am strongly inclined to believe that men in Pakistan are still reluctant
to give up their male privilege and many Pakistani women do not want to participate in
political issues because of everything from how they were brought up, how society views
women, their experiences, corrections, criticism and more. Besides this “Lawmaking bodies
and legislative assemblies are full of males, so they legislate to empower men but not
women”. This makes men feel more empowered and that they can rule women easily. This
legal and political discrimination implicitly contributes to the subordination of women. They
can't lift their problems at a national level.
In addition, neither the laws of Pakistan, nor its social norms, nor its religious mores actually
guarantee women a safe position. Such views are maintained by cultural practices.“From the
first article to the 25th of the 1973 constitution, legal provision is given to the fundamental
rights of all people of Pakistan without any discrimination, but in practice this is not carried
out consistently. I strongly believe that this limits women’s roles in the legal and legislative
circle. Also this will further empower men who already have power. In order to alleviate this
problem, legal protection of women's rights, stringent sanctions for inhumane and unethical
cultural practices and increased involvement of women in political debate will play a positive
role in empowering women in the nation.
To begin to tackle this situation, reasonable and equitable economic opportunities for women
must be given. Legality needs to be accorded to their rights. Women's economic reliance on
male relatives can be minimized by allowing easy access to jobs for them. This will also
allow women to be independent. In addition, the State needs to promote the involvement of
women in politics and other state institutions. Intersectionality has to prevail in male-female
relationships to boost the status of women in Pakistan.This will empower women and reduce
gender inequality in Pakistan.
All things considered, people in Pakistan are more dedicated to their cultural and traditional
roots, which pave the way for women to endure social, political and economic inequality. As
a result, women are deprived of their democratic and civil rights due to outdated cultural
traditions and practices. However, there are numerous solutions to this kind of problem. For
instance, legal protection of women's rights, strict punishments for cruel and unethical
cultural practices and increased participation of women in political discourse would play a
positive role in empowering women in the country.
