Daily Times

Pakistan has been a country whose resources have been utilized and hoarded by politicians and superpowers. In the last 75 years, there have not been many politicians or even common people that did something good for the betterment of our country. These days, inflation is at its peak, and it has become difficult for the common man to survive. Developed countries, like China, have progressed through hard work, dedication, and encouraging their women to work. China has more than 50 thousand dams to meet all of its energy requirements, and still, uses solar energy in industries and workplaces so that it can save as much water as it can. Furthermore, its women work with the male members to run the kitchen and fulfil other requirements.

Sadly, here, we have badly failed to encourage our women to work and produce circumstances where they can commute properly. Our traffic and road conditions are worst. We do not like our female family members going to work. It is time to understand that work for women is just as essential as it is for men because we cannot progress at full pace until our 30 per cent literate women go to work. It is time to think that we need to change our mindset and should allow our girls to work and go to their schools and colleges well in time.

Mobility has been one of the biggest issues for women since the beginning. Most women are dependent on the male members of their families if they want to go anywhere or to commute from one place to another. Moreover, in some tribes and families, women cannot go out of their residences without a male accompanying them. They have to wait for their fathers or even sons to take them where they need to go. Women may feel safer if they are in a car, but due to increasing inflation, not every girl or house can afford a car. Government should do something for the betterment of our state by decreasing fuel and automobile prices. People are selling their vehicles as they do not have enough resources to feed themselves and their families.

These days, several women drive cars, bikes and scooters to go to their workplaces, schools and colleges, but they have some issues. They get harassed by drivers and young boys on the road.

More ironic is the prevalence of stereotypes regarding women drivers, such as they cannot ride or drive properly and are the major reason behind all these road accidents. Those who can’t afford a car either use services like Careem/Uber, public buses, rickshaws, and Bikea for their daily commute, which takes up a good amount of money. Two wheels are a better and cheap option, but, in our society, it is considered a vehicle just for male members. Primarily, bikes were adopted as they were affordable and simple to maintain. But for a Pakistani woman, owning a bike and riding it is usually considered a no-go area. The trend may be changing now, and we can expect brighter days for our country. There are some silly, idiot, and illiterate guys on our roads that do not feel ashamed to harass women. An incident happened where a man blatantly kissed a young lady sitting in a chingchi rickshaw, along with her mother. The video went viral, and people started blaming the girl for why she had been out of her house on the 14th of August. One more thing to mention is that whenever young boys see a girl/lady going on the road or riding a bike, they try to hit them, and as a result, that girl loses her legs, arms, etc, for the rest of her life. Police should take strict action against all such loafer boys and throw them in jail for at least five years or so. A large number of people in our country blame women if any such incidents happen. This is only because of a lack of education, awareness, and the absence of the rule of law. In this regard, the chief justice of Pakistan should take serious action against all such incidents.

We are going through tough times and there are no jobs, electricity and business in Pakistan. On the other hand, the prices of fuel, electricity, and gas are sky-high. In these circumstances, a single salaried person can hardly bear the expenses of the entire house. Also, if we look into the history of developed countries, all of them got power and progress because both genders were equally struggling. If Pakistan wants to do something out of the box and to be a better place to live, we have to understand that jobs are as much important for women as they are for men. Females have to work hard and take part in all the chores that men do. For that, the government should promote electric scooters, which are specifically designed for women. Through a minor modification, they can be converted into solar ones, thus using lesser fuel. Police and law enforcement agencies should appropriately punish all these harassers to set an example. Also, the policies of the IMF are inhumane, and we need to stop superpowers from ruling over us. We hope that, soon, we will return all of our loans and live as we want. It will be possible only if we do work even harder, and our women will work freely in harassment-free Pakistan.

The writer is a Senior Social & Health Analyst and can be reached at figure786@hotmail.com