Daily Times

It is more than often indicated that “nice girls” do not thrive in a certain mentality that is deeply grounded in strictly patriarchal societies like Pakistan. While poor and uneducated women must struggle for basic rights, recognition and respect on a daily basis, many ‘educated’ women are too uneducated to curate their job in terms of a ‘career’. This might be learnt by the visible impression that they bring to interviews where they appear as weak or overcompensating for not being masculine enough.

The plight of Muslim women is probably the most controversial topic of debate in the west today, the assumption being that Muslim women need to be entirely extricated from their religion before anything close to liberation or equality can be achieved. But, the reality is far more different and complicated. Muslim women take pride in owing their mindsets to a culture that defines them by their male counterparts. Some women even admit that they would not have obtained their jobs or achieved as much as they have without the presence of a certain key man in their lives, who offered them real support and helped them with strategic advice on how to integrate themselves in a man’s world.

At a mere 22 percent in 2015, we have the lowest female labour force participation rate in South Asia. The ever-prevalent country wide gender disparity, amongst other factors, restricts the participation of women in the labor force, as well as accounts for the very few well-educated women in Pakistan’s labour market signing up for managerial positions. The socio-cultural values and religious norms that reflect in our society’s mindset are greatly responsible for shaping these power positions for women within Pakistan.

Sexism and misogyny thrive and blossom in record-breaking ways. We see tradition, cultural values and religion being talked about everywhere; practical application of these very confines are used to hold women and girls back and downplay them as vulnerable creatures in society, where rights over their own bodies are questioned and undermined, where they deem themselves unfit to utilize their skill sets to contribute towards the systematic economic development of the country.

Society and religion have done great harm to the submissive and docile gender, but it is the exemplary superwomen of our times who have struggled against all odds to pave their own path and achieve their goals despite resistance of sorts. The young Malala shot to instant worldwide fame when she was maliciously attacked in the October of 2012 for promoting the cause of girls’ education. Muniba Mazari is Pakistan’s only wheel-chair bound TV anchor and activist whose name was included in Forbes 2016. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is the first Pakistani-Canadian to have bagged the Oscar twice for documentaries based on real stories from Pakistan.

One man commented:

“Girls should not look like dolls, because nobody would take them seriously. They mustn’t look masculine either. They have got to pull themselves up.”

It is possible to be both strong and competent, with a tinge of feminine. International Day of the Girl today is about having a mindset of being bold and brave. It’s about holding on to that sense of wonder and adventure that makes girls far more stronger, sensual and tolerant than men.

Twitter users all over the World have bombarded the micro blogging platform in an effort to empower women and recognize their potential on this auspicious occasion.