Daily Times

The latest to pull the drapes over the prevalence of idealistic morals, encouraging many in Pakistan to raise placards against the forces of misogyny in other countries, is the mystery surrounding the appointment of a female officer in the ministry of religious affairs and interfaith. An audio clip in which none other than the federal minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor managed to ruffle the feathers of a candidate scoring record marks with discomforting questions about the significance of dupatta has been making rounds on social media.

While he has since then denied any semblance of gender discrimination in an official statement, remarking, “women in our society have more rights than any other society,” just saying something does not mean it will hold an effect in the real world. The honourable minister might be content with the position of women in his country but official statistics point in another direction. Last year, Global Gender Gap Index ranked Pakistan as the second-worst country in terms of gender parity and noted that we had the smallest share of women in managerial and legislative roles across the world (a mere 4.5 per cent).

If this does not summarise everything that went wrong in the selection process for the coveted seat, nothing on God’s green earth can. A highly-qualified female was allegedly failed because of her dressing sense so that a man with a lower grade can take over. That the official in question went on to reprimand the media for “using the woman card” further adds insult to injury. It would be a worthwhile exercise for him and all those standing behind him to take a cursory glance at the deeply problematic attitude of society towards every single female that dares step outside the confines of her house; trying to make something of herself.

May it be misogynistic remarks based on their appearance, career choices, work-life balance and even character; disconcerting pay gap or a general intolerance, these iron ladies fight a battle against glass ceilings every single day. Despite working twice as hard, they are deemed half as worthy of work-related responsibilities or a seat at the boys’ table. So when Mr Abdul Shakoor shakes his head and sarcastically waves his hands at how one woman is making a mountain out of a molehill, his nonchalance strikes at the heart of all those embroiled in the toxic culture. The only viable solution, ergo, remains in the supremacy of merit. Let the best man or woman take over. *